Carla Venette just tuned me into this....
As someone who spends a ton of her time trying to raise money for breast cancer research, this just royally hacks me off. We've been hearing for months about how Obama wants to redistribute wealth with his Socialist plan. (Yes, Socialist. Call it what it is. Put a monkey in a red dress and you've still got a monkey.) Give hard-earned money of those who earn it to the "lower middle class" or "poor" or "income-challenged" or whatever.
And then I find out that he doesn't practice what he preaches. NOT AT ALL.
Without Obama sticking his nose in my financial business, I already strive to tithe (as we church-goers call it), or give 10% of my pre-tax income. It's the whole first-fruits thing. We're taught from an early age that we're blessed if we give to God first. And it's simply the right thing to do. When we remember to give our girls their allowance, 25% of it goes into their "God" cup, 25% to "college" and 50% to the horse / webkinz / whatever fund.
Obama obviously never learned that. And I'm not sure what ticks me off more. That he doesn't give much of his income -- and thus doesn't practice what preaches. Or that he wants to take that freedom to choose away. Or that he wants the "rich" to hand off more of their income -- in addition to what they would already be tithing. (Yes, there are "rich" Christians!)
My Friends (I've been listening to McCain), whether or not you tithe or give your money to charity or whatever is entirely your business. It's not mine and I'll not judge you either way.
BUT.... If Obama is asking me to give my earnings away to "redistribute the wealth," then what he does with his money is ENTIRELY my business. And if he isn't leading by example, what gives him the right to demand that I follow his Socialist plan??
The quote that really gets me is this one:
"As new parents who were paying off their large student loans, giving $10,000 to charity [from 2000 to 2004] was as generous as they could be at the time," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
Horse-hockey. There are plenty of young parents out there with student loans to pay off. That doesn't stop them from tithing. You know, in the fund-raising game, I've seen lots of people donate. Many of the largest donations have come from some of the most humble people. Hard-working people who don't have a lot by the world's standards. But they know what a toll cancer takes, and they open their hearts and pocketbooks to find a cure.
Many of them live modestly.
But while the Obamas didn't have much to give to charity, they haven't had any trouble buying a $1.65 million house, have they? Oh, but wait. That wasn't until 2005 when they gave a whopping 4.7 % of their annual earnings to charity. (A substantial part of which went to that little church led by Jeremiah Wright.)
Oh! And he obviously made enough money to run for the Senate along the way -- even if he didn't actually work once he got there (but that's another rant entirely, isn't it??)
We work hard for what we have. And whether or not you agree with this whole wealth-redistribution thing, surely you agree that we're only as strong as our leaders. Assuming Obama becomes our President, how can he ask us to make sacrifices he isn't willing to make?
Seriously, look at all this money he has raised!!! I can think of a bajillion places it would do more good than funding a 30-minute network prime-time Obama commercial. Do you have any idea how many mammograms that would pay for? How far we could go towards finding a cure for cancer? Or MS? Or any number of the diseases that are out there?
To whom much is given, much will be required. Pony up, Obama, our 3-Day team is about $30,000 short of our goal. You need to be leading by example and have a lot of ground to make up!
Update: Because I think it's important to compare Apples to Apples, John McCain gave 27.3 - 28.6% of his income to charity in 2006-2007. With his being so far above the national average, why is it so wrong for him to spend what's left on real estate investments?? See more here. And here.
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5 comments:
D'Lyn,
I happened to stumble on to your post after I read an article in the 29 Sept issue of Newsweek. In the article, (which is in the Periscope section), information about the other candidate made me so mad I could not see straight.
You are correct that McCain is not asking the American people to follow a Socialist plan, but he and his family have 13 vehicles as opposed to Obama's one.
I continue to state for the record that I am not sure which level I plan to pull in November.
Given the information that you gave me regarding Obama's less-than-charitable tendencies and the excesses of the McCain family. . . I may just close my eyes, do what I gotta do, go home, and throw up.
That should be "lever", btw
Let's see.... There are how many people in McCain's family that can drive? And how many in Obama's? If Obama had 13 cars, that might be something to be concerned about, especially since 50% of his family doesn't have drivers' licenses.
This is just like McCain being railed against for having 7 or 8 or however many homes he has. When you have that much money, you have to invest in something. If it's real estate that you can actually use, more power to you.
But don't rail against his family for owning 13 cars. I know a family that has a house in Angel Fire. And they have a suburban up there because it doesn't make sense to rent a car every time they fly up. My cousin Angie has a REALLY cool (not) car up at her place in Ruidoso for much the same reason. I figure you add up all the McCain kids having a car, and a few scattered around where they have homes and you get 13. So what? I'm sure Uncle Don has had at least that many on his place at some point.
The difference? McCain isn't going to keep his 13 cars and 7 houses while asking me to give my hard-earned income to someone else. Obama, on the other hand, will brag about only owning one car while he sits in his $1.65 million mansion and gives my money to someone who didn't work hard or make good choices.
You heard me right. The "working man" isn't always a plumber or a construction worker. Sometimes it's a guy who put things on hold to get his MBA. A guy who gets up at 5 a.m. and doesn't get home to his family until 7 -- all because he goes the extra mile.
That's the "Working Man" and he shouldn't have his income redistributed. Everyone can take chances and risks. But you shouldn't expect to be rewarded for someone else's hard work and risks. Take your own.
But to accuse the McCain's of their excesses? I don't think so. It's all relative. You and I were both blessed growing up. We had opportunities some of our peers didn't even dream of. Would you have wanted to give those up? Pass them on down? I think not. Why is it any different for the McCains?
d'lyn- I don't know you but I sure love your thinking!!! You are right on so many levels. Rock on girl!!!!
Wow!! Way to state it. Need to send a copy to both campaigns- get yourself famous and maybe, just maybe, get him to put his money (literally) where his mouth is!!
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