I was watching a movie relating to the early 1900s the other day. An old guy was asking a young guy to define the secret of America. After a few guesses, the old man slapped him across the face and yelled “Money, that is the secret, money. In America money is everything!” Americans did not invent the love of money, but we do hold it above just about everything else.
What do you expect from the “Land of Opportunity?” Those born in the U.S. are raised under the belief that we are the greatest nation in the world and anything is possible. Those elsewhere tend to want to live here, even when they don’t admit it. The rich are idolized like they have done something to deserve there good fortune over those who are without. Many have worked to get what they have gotten, but no one is rich on their own.
In America, we all dream of being rich. Whether we hope to get there by hard work or ease into it by uncovering a winning lotto ticket at the gas station. This never ending aspiration on the part of our citizens has a lot of positive aspects to it. It drives us to work hard and to believe in ourselves and that anything is possible. On the other hand, this hope of one day being rich causes us to look at things from a perspective that is not always in our best interest.
The Bush tax cuts were beneficial to a relatively small amount of our citizens. Ironically, a very few of those in the lower income levels want to have the taxes raised on the rich. My hypothesis is that the poorer folks do not want to hit the rich for their fair share because “when” they too become rich, they do not want to pay the higher taxes. Our aspirations have clouded our ability to see what is really good for ourselves and instead have allowed the uber rich to confuse the issue.
The promise of more jobs from the rich if we don’t tax them has not proven itself reliable over the last decade. The rich create jobs because it helps them make money. The idea that the poor in this country have it too easy and should be more self sufficient is promoted by those with enough money to live their lives without worrying about their next meal. More accurately, those with more money then they can spend in their lifetime. You don’t have to be communist to believe that the greatest nation in the history of the world should be able to cover the medical care and feeding of the masses, rich or poor.
Our communal dream to be rich has caused too many of us to demand no taxes for the rich and cuts in aid to the poor all because we live in a dream land that will one day allow us to only look at the problems of those without money and not experience those problems. There is nothing wrong with taxing high incomes and the purchases of luxury items. If the tax is too high, the rich will be motivated to work harder to get the things they want.
This is not to say there is anything wrong with the rich – I hope one day to be rich. The bottom line is that if we continue to run this country like the rich are the secret to our success and try to put more and more on the poor, we are headed for disaster. This country was made great by both the rich and the poor. Refusing to accept that fact and refusing to share the wealth of this country is a mistake. That is clear even in the CHEAP SEATS!
This column was originally published on July 15, 2011.
Bill James is a co-founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway and Fayetteville, Arkansas. His primary area of practice is criminal defense. He can be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.coma