www.washingtontimes.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Class warfare isn't classy
By Neil Cavuto
Published February 3, 2004


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


They call it class warfare. For the life of me, I don't know why.
There's nothing classy about pitting one group of people against
another.
There's nothing classy about telling the rich in this country that
their gains are somehow ill-gotten.
There's nothing classy about saying the rich get back more money
but never saying boo about the simple fact they pay more money -- a
lot more money.
And there's nothing classy about lying. Because truth be told,
this isn't about us and what we're paying. It's about the government
and what it's keeping.
Some people really like and trust the government and want to give
more money to the government. I am not in that camp. I am in the camp
that says I would much sooner trust you with your money than any
bureaucrat with your money.
But it's more fundamental than that. The reason I find myself
throwing things at the television every time I hear Democratic
candidates speak is they all but say they hate rich people. Rich
people are greedy. Rich people are selfish. Rich people don't deserve
a break.
Well, give me a break. Look, I have known rich people who were
fools and poorer people who were fools. Trust me on this one:
Charlatans know no pedigree, and decency knows no salary range. You
can make a lot of money and have zero scruples or make no money and
have no scruples.
But I'll tell you this: Most rich people I've known are good,
hard-working, start-from-scratch people. Contrary to the impression
they have somehow come into this world with silver spoons in their
mouths, government statistics show the vast majority of John Kerry's
targeted $200,000-and-over crowd is self-made. If they have a silver
spoon, they bought it with their own money and their own sweat.
You know, not once in my life has a poor person hired me. Rich
guys, or at least richer guys, did. Trust me, they weren't all saints,
but all the ones I've known were willing to give this Italian-Irish
kid from working-class roots a chance ... whether it be scooping ice
cream in a shop or churning out perfume in a factory.
Poor people get their breaks from rich people. The government can
hand out a check. But the rich guy makes an investment. There's a
fundamental difference here that marks the very essence of capitalism.
The best way out of the gutter isn't a payment from a bureaucrat but
an opportunity from a businessman.
The class of our system of government is that it doesn't
distinguish between classes at all. All can share in the American
dream if they toil long enough and sacrifice enough. Some have neither
the appetite nor work ethic to bother with this, but that doesn't mean
we abuse those who do.
Only in America can we turn on those who made this country great
and tear them down precisely because they did. Look, I'm not saying we
have to all shout a big "thank you," but they're due a lot more than a
"drop dead."
There's nothing classy in that argument, just as there's nothing
classy in saying the rich don't already more than foot the bill. The
top 1 percent of wage-earners in this country account for more than a
third of the taxes collected in this country. The top 5 percent pay
more than half. If that's getting off lightly, what's considered
getting bludgeoned?
You make more in this country. You pay more in this country. It
was that way before the president's tax cuts. It's been that way since
the president's tax cuts. It's amazing to me that bureaucrats who live
off the system are bashing the guys who give 'em the sustenance.
That's the real class story.
Pity there's not a politician with the class to report it.

Neil Cavuto is managing editor of Business News at FOX News
Channel and is a nationally syndicated columnist.

************************************************** *********************
I cannot understand the concept that people who hire people are bad
people, as is espoused by several in this group. If people didn't hire
union workers, would the workers have jobs?










John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!

"John H" wrote in message

If people didn't hire
union workers, would the workers have jobs?

Don't change the subject!!!!!

Good article but not much about boating except indirectly (boaters
have money and therefore must be rich, etc.).

Every once in a while someone I know is indiscreet enough to suggest
that I must be wealthy since I have a boat or two or three. I always
have to explain to them that they don't understand, and that I would
be well off if I *didn't* have any boats.

In my opinion both major political parties in this country have lost
their way, just in different directions.

================================================== ==========


On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 16:47:50 -0500, John H
wrote:

www.washingtontimes.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Class warfare isn't classy
By Neil Cavuto
Published February 3, 2004


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


They call it class warfare. For the life of me, I don't know why.
There's nothing classy about pitting one group of people against
another.
There's nothing classy about telling the rich in this country that
their gains are somehow ill-gotten.
There's nothing classy about saying the rich get back more money
but never saying boo about the simple fact they pay more money -- a
lot more money.
And there's nothing classy about lying. Because truth be told,
this isn't about us and what we're paying. It's about the government
and what it's keeping.
Some people really like and trust the government and want to give
more money to the government. I am not in that camp. I am in the camp
that says I would much sooner trust you with your money than any
bureaucrat with your money.
But it's more fundamental than that. The reason I find myself
throwing things at the television every time I hear Democratic
candidates speak is they all but say they hate rich people. Rich
people are greedy. Rich people are selfish. Rich people don't deserve
a break.
Well, give me a break. Look, I have known rich people who were
fools and poorer people who were fools. Trust me on this one:
Charlatans know no pedigree, and decency knows no salary range. You
can make a lot of money and have zero scruples or make no money and
have no scruples.
But I'll tell you this: Most rich people I've known are good,
hard-working, start-from-scratch people. Contrary to the impression
they have somehow come into this world with silver spoons in their
mouths, government statistics show the vast majority of John Kerry's
targeted $200,000-and-over crowd is self-made. If they have a silver
spoon, they bought it with their own money and their own sweat.
You know, not once in my life has a poor person hired me. Rich
guys, or at least richer guys, did. Trust me, they weren't all saints,
but all the ones I've known were willing to give this Italian-Irish
kid from working-class roots a chance ... whether it be scooping ice
cream in a shop or churning out perfume in a factory.
Poor people get their breaks from rich people. The government can
hand out a check. But the rich guy makes an investment. There's a
fundamental difference here that marks the very essence of capitalism.
The best way out of the gutter isn't a payment from a bureaucrat but
an opportunity from a businessman.
The class of our system of government is that it doesn't
distinguish between classes at all. All can share in the American
dream if they toil long enough and sacrifice enough. Some have neither
the appetite nor work ethic to bother with this, but that doesn't mean
we abuse those who do.
Only in America can we turn on those who made this country great
and tear them down precisely because they did. Look, I'm not saying we
have to all shout a big "thank you," but they're due a lot more than a
"drop dead."
There's nothing classy in that argument, just as there's nothing
classy in saying the rich don't already more than foot the bill. The
top 1 percent of wage-earners in this country account for more than a
third of the taxes collected in this country. The top 5 percent pay
more than half. If that's getting off lightly, what's considered
getting bludgeoned?
You make more in this country. You pay more in this country. It
was that way before the president's tax cuts. It's been that way since
the president's tax cuts. It's amazing to me that bureaucrats who live
off the system are bashing the guys who give 'em the sustenance.
That's the real class story.
Pity there's not a politician with the class to report it.

Neil Cavuto is managing editor of Business News at FOX News
Channel and is a nationally syndicated columnist.

************************************************* **********************
I cannot understand the concept that people who hire people are bad
people, as is espoused by several in this group. If people didn't hire
union workers, would the workers have jobs?










John H

On the 'Poco Loco' out of Deale, MD
on the beautiful Chesapeake Bay!