I just read where 47% of Americans want to redistribute the wealth.

Apparantly they are upset that there are people out there that have more money than they do, which seems to be par golf for the way the human race looks at things, at least in a primitive setting.

It is a crab mentality.

Any crab fisherman knows that you really do not have to worry about crabs escaping from a tank or bin simply because as soon as one beginss to look like he is going to make it over the top and escape the rest of the crabs are going to pull him back down into the bin.

I read where some Peace Corps types got frustrated with trying to help out some of the villagers in Haiti or someplace like that. I think it was Haiti, but I could be wrong.

They would punch a well to provide clean water and almost instantly the neighboring village would get upset that they didn't have a well so they would poison the well and then after that, they would tear out the piping and sell if for scrap.

Of course everybody lost.

This seems to be the type of mentality we are heading to and it really isn't surprising. It starts early.

Even back in the day the mentality seems to have been taught at school.

Amyone remember being caught chewing gum?

"Did you bring enough so everyone can have some?"

Of course, I was prepared for that one and before she could say another word I was on my feet passing out gum. The teacher then treated me to a pretty good hissy fit and it cost me an hour after school.

One of the things I noticed while I was passing out the gum is that a lot of people that generally didn't chew gum accepted the gum I handed out, probably because it was free. Go figure.

The next time I got caught in another class, I got the same spiel about bringing enough for everyone. I told the teacher that this was a free country and that if anyone else wanted gum they could simplly buy their own and besides, I asked her, "What are you some kind of off-brand communist type?"

I got an hour after school for that one, too.

There was a third time and I have to admit that the teacher in that class had at least half of a brain in his head.

"Piccolo," he said. "While I recognize that as an American you have a right to buy gum and share it or not share it as you see fit, I would appreciate it if you didn't chew it in my class because it is against the rules."

I could live with that one. 

Anyway, this share the wealth stuff is not new, it is crab mentality.

We see it in the ghettos and other places all the time.

The person that plants a window box and gets it torn up or the person that puts up something only to get it tagged the first night it's there.

It doesn't take a whole lot of time getting improvements to the community torn up before one smartens up and simply packs it in a and gives up trying to improve things. Why bother?

The suburbs is a little different. This year when I busted my ass to do a lot of planting the neighbors seemed to go out and do a little extra to make their yards look a little nicer. It is a bit of keeping up with the Joneses that makes for things being a little nicer.

The same holds true for trying to get ahead. If the powers that be make it a waste of time to get ahead than people will not bother. You can't blame them.

Over the years I have listened to people grouse about big corporations like oil companies, yet they still insist on driving huge tanks that get lousy gas milage. They bellyache about corporate greed yet they never stop to think that these corporations provide employment for a tremendous amount of people here. They supply an awful lot of people with an income and put an awful lot of meat on an awful lot of tables. When they start having their profits taken away from them they start to make other plans.

Part of the reason we have a  poor merchant marine in this country is that as soon as the shipping companies were making a pretty good profit, the wonderful do-gooders in the powers that be started wallopping them with taxes and discouraged growth. The corporations responded by reflagging their ships to avoid both the taxation and the regulations laid down by the US government.

End result? Fewer jobs and less national income.

We gripe about having to talk to someone in India or South America or the Phillipines when we need tech support for out computers, phones or TVs, yet there is a pretty good reason for that. PArt of it,of course, probably IS that the corporations can pay these people a lesser wage, but I really think that they would prefer the convenience of having their tech departments in the states. I'd just bet that the government has wallopped them with taxes and as a result they have moved their tech departments off shore to keep the government out of things.

I can't blame them. I would probably do the same damned thing if I was running the show.

This isn't junior high school and you have no right to expect anyone that chews gum to have to share it with you. It's his decision.

Why should I be forced to share the money I have earned with you?

Get a job and earn your own.

While you're at it, buy your own damned gum.










my other blog is: http://officerpiccolo.blogspot.com/ http://piccolosbutler.blogspot.com/