Obama's Class War

It occcurred to me while reading Daniel Henninger's column today in the WSJ, "The Obama Rosetta Stone", that at least some of Obama's animus toward those earning high incomes is based on the sleazy character of his well off acquaintances. Obama's rich buddies include the crooked Tony Rezko, the hateful (and crooked) Jeremiah Wright and the undeserving and ungrateful Michelle Obama.
Of course much of his attitude is just standard left wing ideology. Henninger quotes from Obama's latest book, "A New Era of Responsibility: Renewing America's Promise. The President's Budget and Fiscal Preview".

"While middle-class families have been playing by the rules, living up to their responsibilities as neighbors and citizens, those at the commanding heights of our economy have not."

This is a remarkable statement, accusing high achievers, the very engine of our economy, of not only not deserving their wealth but somehow cheating to get it. Speaking of not living up to their responsibilities, how about those middle (and lower) class citizens who walked away from mortgages they agreed to and couldn't afford?
And this,

"Prudent investments in education, clean energy, health care and infrastructure were sacrificed for huge tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected."

To repeat, tax cuts result in increased revenue. Revenue hit record levels under President Bush. There was plenty of money available for extravagant government spending.
Also, this,

"There's nothing wrong with making money, but there is something wrong when we allow the playing field to be tilted so far in the favor of so few. . . . It's a legacy of irresponsibility, and it is our duty to change it."

I suppose having the top 1% of income earners pay only half of all income taxes is "tilting the playing field" in their favor. Hard working, talented people who are rewarded for their efforts are considered irresponsible in Obama's eyes. We must change the rules to make it harder for them to achieve success.


A separate note. I helped out my daughter, a high school senior, with the homework for her government class tonight. Her assignment? Pretend that you're the POTUS. State and defend your position on three issues.
Heh, heh, heh.