THE STATE OF THE FOREST...SHERWOOD FOREST

Of course you all remember Robin Hood and his merry band of outlaws who lived in Sherwood Forest. Robin stole from the rich and allegedly gave to the poor. More specifically Robin and his band committed armed robbery. What becomes quite relevant here is that Robin Hood was a fictitious character. It was a fun story, but it was just a story.

We live in America not Sherwood Forest. Our government is not Robin Hood. The continuing proposals coming from the president is to take/confiscate the property of the rich and redistribute it to the poor. Wealth redistribution seems to be the mantra from this president. Obamacare is one such wealth redistribution scheme. Another is the so-called free two year college tuition credit. Well, obviously there is no free anything. Somebody is going to have to pay for all of these freebies.

When I was a youngster just getting out of high school I also had the opportunity for a free college education. It was called the GI Bill. All I had to do was join the military and serve my country and the country would then assist me in getting an education. Oh, and if I didn’t join, they would have drafted me anyway because back then it was believed that all our young men owed the country at least two years of service. What ever happened to that belief?

And so the President, in his State of the Union address, continues to propose new schemes to soak the rich once again and to distribute that confiscated wealth to the have nots. Another incentive-killing, un-American armed robbery. Billions would be collected over the next few years to grow the size of an already bloated government.

What are the chances that a Republican Congress will give this President any of the tax increases he is asking for? I’m going to guess zero. He knows that. So, why is he doing this? Could it be that he believes the Republicans will come across as the bad guys for not taxing the rich to give to the poor? The tax increase proposals are dead on arrival in Congress and because of these proposals by the President, so is any possible agreement between the President and the Congress. In other words the coming two years are going to be rocky at best. A brief word of caution for the Democrats who support this lame duck president in his ongoing tax and spending. You also will have to face the voters in 2016.

I think the president wants a contentious relationship with the Republicans believing they will be blamed for America’s lack of progress over the next two years. Some might even agree with him, but as was shown in the last election, those numbers are dwindling. The clear majority of Americans believe we have been headed in the wrong direction. We now have to right the ship. A part of that righting of the ship is to rein in unrestricted growth of government. Another part of that correction of our direction is tax reform, not tax increases.

It is pretty clear that President Obama didn’t learn anything from the midterm elections. Perhaps his inability to accomplish anything over his remaining term will allow him to reflect on his choices.

This isn’t Sherwood Forest. We are not living in a fictional time or place. This is real life. You want a free college education, join the military. Earn your way. There is no free lunch. The government isn’t Robin Hood and this Congress cannot be complicit in these ongoing incentive-killing policies.

Ron Scarbro