Defining Equality

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Today is December 7, which means there are only 18 days left until Christmas.  However, in the United States it is also a day when we remember the many that lost their lives in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.  President Roosevelt called it a day of infamy as he was formally asking Congress to declare war on Japan for this attack.  As a resident of Arizona, it is an especially memorable day since many of the deaths that day occurred on the USS Arizona which remains at the bottom of the harbor in Hawaii.  Let us all take a moment today to remember those who died in the attack and the many that died in Europe and the Pacific in World War II.

 We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

 that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,

that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

U.S. Declaration of Independence

In these opening words of the Declaration of Independence, our nation’s founders established the foundational belief that all men are created equal.  By their use of the word created, they were stating their belief in a creator that created everyone with equal opportunity and that the creator created them with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Unfortunately, progressives have changed this simple definition of equality and rights over the last 100 years to mean equality of outcomes with rights granted by a large centralized government. 

This week, President Obama delivered a speech in which he said,

 We know that people’s frustrations run deeper than these most recent political battles. Their frustration is rooted in their own daily battles, to make ends meet, to pay for college, buy a home, save for retirement. It’s rooted in the nagging sense that no matter how hard they work, the deck is stacked against them. And it’s rooted in the fear that their kids won’t be better off than they were.

They may not follow the constant back-and-forth in Washington or all the policy details, but they experience, in a very personal way, the relentless decades long trend that I want to spend some time talking about today, and that is a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility that has jeopardized middle-class America’s basic bargain that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead. I believe this is the defining challenge of our time: making sure our economy works for every working American. That’s why I ran for president. It was the center of last year’s campaign. It drives everything I do in this office.  (1)

For those of us working hard and not seeming to get ahead the Presidents words may seem good at first.  However, Obama went on to say, “we need to set aside the belief that government cannot do anything about reducing inequality.”  (2)  Obama’s definition of equality is not equality of opportunity but rather equality of outcomes, administered by a large centralized federal government. 

This is not a new belief of President Obama’s but the same belief he inadvertently let out in his comments to Joe the plumber during the 2008 election.  You might remember that then Senator Obama was campaigning for President in Ohio when Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber, approached him.  Joe told Obama that he was planning to buy his bosses plumbing business, putting him above the $250,000 annual income level.  Joe the plumber, as he came to be known, was concerned that Obama’s economic policies would increase his taxes.  Obama told Joe the plumber that, “I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."  (3)  Obama’s recent comments are just a restatement of what he told Joe the Plumber back in 2008. 

What has become clear since the rollout of Obamacare is that this law is not about health care at all but just the latest liberal, statist, progressive wealth redistribution scheme.  The individual mandate which fines, or taxes as the Supreme Court ruled, (4) mandates that healthy individuals be required to purchase health insurance providing coverage they will most likely not use in order to fund insurance for individuals with preexisting conditions, the elderly, and those too poor to afford health care. 

Now with the implementation of the individual mandate, these young people are discovering that their affordable catastrophic plans are being cancelled, forcing them to go to healthcare.gov and purchase coverage or be fined, or taxed on their tax return this year.  Besides the fact that the website regularly crashes, these individuals also suffered sticker shock once they discovered what their premiums would be for insurance to replace what they lost.  (5)  Many of these individuals will probably opt to pay the fine, tax sorry I keep getting that wrong, but will be in for some additional sticker shock when the fines, tax, is increased in subsequent years.  This is no different from the progressive income tax, which now transfers wealth from those that actually pay taxes to low income people through refundable tax credits like the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit), and the Additional Child Tax Credit. 

These liberal progressive wealth redistribution schemes do not serve to achieve equality of outcomes because people find a way to protect their assets.  For example, wealthy people are able to avoid income taxes by taking advantage of legal tax deductions and the youth that are needed to fund Obamacare discover that it is better to pay a fine, or additional tax, on the tax return then pay for expensive, unnecessary health insurance. 

This does not mean I am against helping the poor when they need a hand up but that I do not believe it is the government’s responsibility to do it but, as Jesus taught in Matthew 25:31-46, it is the responsibility of every one of us.  The Bible also teaches that God loves a cheerful giver and not one who gives through the compulsion of some wealth transference scheme of government (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Of course, in order for some to be able to give and assist the poor, there must be some in society that possess an abundance from which to give, aka the wealthy.

Our founders’ definition of equality meaning equal opportunity is what has made this country great for it insured people had the freedom to pursue their dreams with the government playing the role of protector of the people’s God given rights.  Unfortunately, the current liberal progressive definition of equality as equality of outcomes, requiring the redistribution of wealth only stifles the pursuit of individual dreams thus stifling productivity and creativity.  We therefore must return to the original intent of the founding of this country as a place where every individual starts with an equal opportunity to pursue the American Dream leaving the outcome to whatever that individual does with his or her opportunity. 

1. Real Clear Politics. Obama: "Growing Inequality" In America "Drives Everything I Do In This Office". www.realclearpolitics.com. [Online] Real Clear Politics, December 4, 2013. [Cited: December 6, 2013.] http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/12/04/obama_defining_challenge_of_our_time_is_the_growing_inequality_in_america.html.

2. —. Obama: Set Aside Belief That Government Can't Fix Inequality. www.realclearpolitics.com. [Online] Real Clear Politics, December 4, 2013. [Cited: December 6, 2013.] http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2013/12/04/obama_set_aside_belief_that_government_cant_fix_inequality.html.

3. Jones, Susan. ‘Spread the Wealth Around’ Comment Comes Back to Haunt Obama - See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/spread-wealth-around-comment-comes-back-haunt-obama#sthash.ZqZ2lqo1.dpuf. cnsnews.com. [Online] CNS News, October 15, 2008. [Cited: December 6, 2013.] http://cnsnews.com/news/article/spread-wealth-around-comment-comes-back-haunt-obama.

4. The Editors. Chief Justice Roberts’s Folly . www.nationalreview.com. [Online] The National Review, June 28, 2012. [Cited: December 6, 2013.] http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/304311/chief-justice-roberts-s-folly-editors.

5. Coca, Onan. Obamacare Fans Get Sticker Shock. eaglerising.com. [Online] Eagle Rising, October 9, 2013. [Cited: October 29, 2013.] http://eaglerising.com/2162/obamacare-fans-get-sticker-shock/.