Patch Blog: What's Wealth Got to Do With It?

Not surprisingly this year's Presidential campaign is focusing on seemingly everything but the most important issues. As the President pushes his us versus them campaign strategy, and the media pushes the net worth of Governor Romney, we the people are left wondering what do these two men want to do with the country?

It made me wonder why do I, and we, care so much about money except for the obvious reasons of shelter, food, clothing, health care, etc.? But pondering the issues deeper, why are we as a nation or the media so obsessed that Governor Romney is worth $200 million dollars when that doesn't even put him close to what Senator John Kerry is worth.

For the record he is worth $193 million according to TheHill.com and his wife the heiress to the Heinz food company is worth between $750million to $1.2 billion. They could hire Governor Romney's former employer, Bain Capital to buy him out many times over.  Why weren't we focused on the Senator's finances when he was the Democractic nominee for President back in 2008.  He's worth much more and for the record, does his money make him vote differently even now as one of the most powerful Senator's in the United States Senate.  Has anyone in the media, academia or even his constituents asked that question?

Do we hate Governor Romney because he's Mormon, is that why?  Or that his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints opposes homosexual marriage and abortion?  Or is it because he's a Republican whereas an overwhelming super majority of the media are Democrats?  Have envy of money and social issues overtaken us where we can't use reason and logic to decide the issues anymore?

To all of the above paragraphs I say balderdash.  It is one big canard people, and in particular this state, buy hook-line-and-sinker.  But again I ask why?  There are deep, deep, problems in our country.  I'm stating the obvious but why is no one asking President Obama, Speaker Gingrich, Governor Romney or Senator Kerry what is your plan for dealing with $15 trillion dollars worth of debt?

Republicans supposedly want to save money yet keep spending and Democrats led by economists like Paul Krugman say to spend, spend, spend in a way that only a Keysenian economist would understand.  Full disclosure I have a B.S. in Economics and do not believe in either Keynesian or Neo-Keynesian economic philosophies for running our or anyone else's economy.

Yet have we become so envious of wealth that we can only think this person or that person has more than me so I'm going to hate them because of their money.  Then we the voters have become dupes and marks so if you really hate the rich then I suggest you vote, become informed and stop watching only NBC, CNN, MSNBC and the rest of them and hold your elected officials accountable.  

If Bill O'Reilly makes you mad -- good, get mad and then ask why aren't we drilling for oil off the California coast.  Why are Marines under horrible rules of engagement restrictions set forth by lawyers in the Justice Department to satisfy small groups of people such as the ACLU and MoveOn.org when they fight brutal, fascists such as the Taliban?  Read a book by former Navy Seal, Marcus Luttrell called, "Lone Survivor" to understand how evil the lawyers who place our military under restrictions that get them killed for no good reason other than it satisfies their need to feel good and liberal about themselves.  Now there's a reason to get mad and not whether this Senator or that President is rich.  

This politics of envy or us against them or I'm going to occupy this to show I'm upset.  Again good for you but how about instead you help stop the child sex slave business around the world or get upset over 30,000 human beings being murdered over drugs in Mexico within the last five years.  That's a national security issue I'd love to hear asked about in a Republican Presidential debate or the upcoming debate between the Republican nominee and President Obama.  

Stop!  Stop!  Stop this ridiculous obsession over Governor Romney's checkbook and instead ask him why he passes his version of nationalized healthcare in Massachusetts but now is against it for the United States?  Better yet ask the President why the rich should pay 30% and how he came up with that number?  

Make them answer questions and stop saying everything is either racial (if I disagree with the President's policies I'm a racist) or do I hate Mormons if I make Governor Romney explain why he wants to expand the Navy by building more warships if he were President.

Finally if we're going to discuss money then let's end with sex.

Speaker Gingrich wants to build a colony on the moon yet we know more about his sex life from twenty years ago then we do how he proposes to pay for that idea along with going to Mars.  When we want to know his "pillow-talk" from decades ago we've become an adle and dotty people.

Don't be adle, dotty, a mark, a dupe or someone who falls for balderdash.  Be an informed, engaged citizenry and just maybe we'll get not only the President we deserve but the rest of government we deserve at the federal but state and local level as well.