There is much satisfaction in work well done,
but there can be no happiness equal to the joy of
finding a heart that understands.
Victor Robinsoll
Joe Klein / Time, "The Ice Is Breaking": part 3
(part 2) (part 1)
There was, however, something crucial missing from the speech. The President's highest moments of passion were reserved for the celebration of the struggle for civil rights. He had nothing to say about civic responsibilities, though. There was no acknowledgment that rights come with responsibilities in a democracy, especially for those--rich and poor--who are getting special benefits from the government. There was no call to a greater sense of community at a time when we have lost the habits of citizenship.
Not to nitpick, but we live in a republic, not a democracy. Notice that Klein is attempting to obfuscate his ideological bent by throwing 'and poor" into the mix; this is clearly aimed at the rich whom allegedly haven't done their "fair share". This is little more than window-dressing for Obama's divisive class warfare rhetoric; the tacit assumption is that all the rich get special (unspecified) benefits (it's not clear what Klein expects from poor people--wait, there community agitation organizing).
But the fact is that rent-seeking doesn't involve just two income classes (and there are a number of parties that don't engage in rent-seeking activities). Keep in mind that Klein is referring to civic responsibility, not individual responsibility (e.g., not to be a burden to society). I would agree a need to focus on individual responsibility--in fact, the first part of JFK's quote clearly ('Ask not what your county can do for you') bears on self-reliance. I think there's a definite rationale behind the quote: if I don't even care for myself, how can I care for others? Klein also fails to make his case there has been a deterioration in civic responsibility: he merely asserts it without evidence or explanation of why it's deteriorated since JFK's address.
In fact, I would submit that Obama was implicitly pushing that theme; he found a more politically correct way to rephrase his infamous "you didn't build that" point; the address deliberately sidesteps individual achievement to focus on group achievement.
I don't think Obama needs tips from Joe Klein on how to organize a community.
We have come through a difficult time. Obama's [message, is that we are now free to move on.
Oh, yes, Obama would like to think the Bush/Obama recession is behind us, but in fact we've not even dealt with a horrific deficit, we've one of the weakest, most jobless recovery in decade, decades' low in labor rate participation and the major entitlements are grossly underfunded.
Liars and Politicians
One of my favorite Austrian school economists...
Texas Vs. California
Hmm. The familiar reader must really be wondering where I stand on this--I was born in Texas, I attended and graduated from a Texas high school, all four of my college degrees are from Texas universities, California stole money from me (they disallowed an excess disability tax credit because they "lost" my W-2's and they taxed a Roth IRA installment of income that was not earned in California. The conversion was done before I ever moved to California; I never would have made the conversion knowing California would plunder my IRA. California argues that it was only right they went after me because they didn't go after people who left California. Every week I get queries from California recruiters, and even when I've been between gigs during the recession, I won't consider them,
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Association, "Along Comes Mary".
