Army of Dog

At the risk of turning this blog into a running commentary on the local paper, I found a fascinating dichotomy in the “Letters to the Editor” section of the Sunday edition. The first letter is from James Long of Dallas. I don’t know James at all of course, but now, thanks to the miracle of nineteenth-century technology, I can say with confidence that James is an economic idiot. Here’s his letter:

Re: “Economy needs Bush cuts,” by Alan Walne, Monday Letters.

What we could do is let the Bush tax cuts for those making more than $200,000 per year expire and increase taxes on these individuals. These tax savings could be passed on to those individuals making less than $200,000 per year. That way, there would be no actual overall tax increase and the economy would benefit. This would make the Bush tax cuts permanent, with just different individuals receiving the cuts. This is sound economic policy and necessary to future economic growth.

James Long, Dallas

If you work for a company or do most jobs that pay less than $200,000 per year, there’s a word for people who make more than that amount. “Boss,” from the Latin for “the guy who signs your fucking paycheck.” Economics is complicated, but this aspect of it is painfully damn simple. If the government takes more money away from your boss, he or she will have less money to either pay you or hire more people like you. I realize that throws a serious wrinkle in your whole “I’m jealous, so I’ll vote for the guy who promises to take away their money” theory of economic prosperity, but it’s true. So, I say this out of love and concern, grow the fuck up and stop whining about people who make more money than you.

If you want to be richer, then use your talents, time, creativity, and effort to build something that generates wealth. It’s not as easy as sitting around whining about how much the bastard down the street makes, but I guarantee you that it will get you a lot closer to your goal. And it will save those of us who understand basic fucking economics the time and trouble of working hard to cancel out your vote.

That brings us to our second letter on the same subject. This one comes from Gary Anderson of Anna, Tx. Anna is a small town north of Dallas, and it is home to at least one certified economic genius as far as I’m concerned. Here’s Gary’s letter:

Last weekend, I was reading the annual feature in Parade magazine called “What People Earn.” Now I’m an average guy, with average earnings. Last year, Miley Cyrus made $18.2 million, Tiger Woods made $115 million and Oprah Winfrey made $260 million.

I don’t begrudge these folks for making a lot more in one year than I’ll make in a lifetime. In fact, I applaud it.

What I do begrudge, however, is the fact that we gripe and moan about CEOs making millions of dollars and want to penalize them for it. Why do we have a double standard when it comes to athletes and entertainers?

We worship celebrity, but still want to stick it to the man. Well, the man keeps food on my table, clothes on my back and gas in my tank. Celebrities and politicians do not.

Gary Anderson, Anna

Certified fucking genius. I can’t tell you the warm, fuzzy feeling I got when I first read this letter. Here’s someone who isn’t rich, in fact he probably makes about the same amount of money that our friend James does, but he has grasped the fundamental truism that “the man” not only creates wealth for the economy as a whole, but also creates the jobs that “working people” need.

The problem, ultimately, is that there are a lot more Jameses than there are Garys. And as long as the Jameses are steeped in their ignorance, there will be politicians willing to exploit their sentiments. Hence the appeal of the Obamessiah to “working people.”