The Whole Truth and Nothing But.. (REPRINT)

The following is a reprint of the 2/9/2013 Blog posting entitled, The Whole Truth and Nothing But... I am reposting it because the closer we come to the election the more frustrated we become with the logic of the "other side." (Not me certainly, but some people.) It will be a long three months if we can't a least get some feeling for why people may believe as they do. The following explanation of wealth distribution has helped me look through opposite eyes. Not changed, just looked.

The characters

Reginald and Vanessa
Reginald inherited his wealth. He’s a trust fund baby. He thinks of no one but himself (not even his trophy wife Vanessa). His main life’s objective is finding ways in which he can enjoy his wealth. He has all the toys money can buy. He has the private jet, yacht, homes and cars all over the world.  He feels he is head and shoulders above the common man. He is a man of privilege. What’s his is his to enjoy every day of his life.
Bob and Sydney 
Bob and Sydney started their business in their garage, second mortgaged their home, went thru tough financial times (which tested their marriage). After one bankruptcy they reorganized and came out the other end smarter and ready to go. They have since hired 250 people and are now one of the most profitable up and coming companies in the US. Bob and Sydney have a nice home in an upscale neighborhood, send their two children to good schools, have a trust fund set up for their kids' future and still work 40 plus hours a week. They know they have a good life, and they also know how much blood, sweat and tears they put in to it. They have started a foundation to aid new entrepreneur couples.
Frank and Sally 
Frank is a high school graduate, Sally has her GED. They have 4 children and just getting by with Frank’s hourly salary and some extra cash they pick up by Sally’s baby sitting. Frank lost his job through downsizing at his company. He has very actively searched for jobs for over a year. They live on his unemployment check and Sally’s baby sitting extra cash. He doesn’t want "charity," but cannot feed his family without it. When he is not walking the streets looking for a job (he had to sell his car), Frank attends the community college to pick up some new skills to broaden his job potential. This is not they way he wanted his life to be, and he is determined to do everything he can to get himself and his family back on track.
Peaches Williams 
Peaches was never married, has six children, with five men. She has never worked. She lives off of welfare for herself and her children, three of whom live with her mother who is also single and on welfare.  Peaches has a car, cell phone, flat screen TV, and she and her current boyfriend eat well off of food stamps. She and her family are devoted members of the professional poor.

When Liberals contend that we should tax the rich to redistribute the nation’s resources, that it’s unfair that some folks should have so much while others have so little in this land of plenty, they use Reginald and Vanessa as an example of the rich and  Frank and Sally  as an example of  the poor.

“You want to let those people who have more money than they can ever spend and have no idea what the rest of us are experiencing, partying in their penthouses with their servants, big top hats and cigars while we have hardworking people out in the world who are living in tenements and ghettos and can hardly put food on the table?”

Republicans when describing the tax breaks for the rich describe the working rich (Bob and Sydney ) and the non-working poor (Peaches Williams).

“You want to take money from people who have sacrificed so much and given back so much in the way of innovation, creativity, good jobs and charitable donations and give that money to people who have voluntarily contributed nothing and whose main job is looking for who they can get something from. You really want to take money from the productive and give to the unproductive?”

Both are true.