Check This, Communists!
I want to state for the record that I am voting for Trump in November. No matter what missteps he makes, he will never be anywhere near as bad as the Democrat Party has become. But, that being said, through the many, many hours of my coverage on COVID 19, I supported, or at least understood most of what President Trump did, until: he, the Fed, and most of Congress ganged up to inflate the dollar and/or tax Americans by taking $6,200,000,000,000.00.
That made me extremely angry. Unlike most irresponsible Americans, who spend all their money every two weeks, or go into debt. I have held onto a sizable savings for about 16 years--ever since my businessman grandfather's stock which he had passed on to me was liquidated. Throughout all of the Obama years, I almost always worked more than 40 hours / week--sometimes as much as 70 hours / week. During one period, I worked so much that the higher management went into the system and tracked my work record where I literally worked every single day for 6 months! What broke my streak was a utility problem in one of the stores that sent me home when I arrived for the assigned shift. Some can say I'm somewhat rich because of that 2.5% stock holding in a Florida citrus company. But, I worked to stay where my grandfather put me. And, in fact, through all the Obama years, I increased my net worth.
The Obama experience should have taught every American to work and save. When I hear the Trump Administration or Republicans in Congress complain that poor Americans are financially suffering through "no fault of their own", the question that comes to mind if a laid off employee won't just go out and find whatever jobs are still available is, "Didn't you learn anything from the Obama Era?" If one just looks at what Obama did to America, every individual from 2016 onward should have been working in overdrive to: pay any debts, build up a savings, and restrain oneself from putting it all into the stock market.
So, being an American who has learned and is applying the lessons taught by that Terrible Destroyer, I am: continuing to work in overdrive (if you count my intellectual, second job, at home). I have no debts. I am working whatever hours I can get in my cash job at Domino's. And, I am tracking the stock market where I only had about half of my savings when the COVID 19 Pandemic began.
However, what this $6,200,000,000,000.00 spending does to my savings is to destroy a huge part of it. Government and different schools of thought try to convince us to rationalize accepting a fraction of someone else's capital that has been taken or diminished. There's the, previously mentioned, "No fault of your own." line. There's the, "You have been paying into the system all your life..." line. Or, unfortunately for me (because I'll probably get hell from the Objectivists for this) there's the, "It's OK to not let yourself be as much of a victim, so accept welfare like Ayn Rand did."
But, you see, I am a maker who refuses to be a taker. However, I have a different view than those welfare peddlers who are either going to get a hook in me or reel back the lure intact. That Treasury Department check that will soon be in the mail will neither be cashed by me, nor returned so the Communists' hands can run the precious gems and rice grains through their fingers. The check will be framed and put on an Objectivist book shelf in my living room.
I have no claim on the check. Perhaps, there is some tens of billionths way to rationalize a speck from a lake of gold that would be mine. But, if you think of it, a check of that amount is really Jeff Bezos's (the richest man in the world). If I could have a way to really believe that Mr. Bezos would be receiving his money, I would gladly endorse and give him his check.
In the meantime, I am concerned for Mr. Bezos's personal recreation funds. Perhaps I can set up a charity drive that will match his check with more money to meet his non-discretionary activities. But, until the day comes, when and if my shelf trophy can reach it's rightful owner, that symbol of outrageous taxation and dollar inflation will sit in my home waiting. So, I say to the government...
Check this, Communists!
Paul Wharton
Special thanks to Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) for inventing the fuel of my mind
