The Socialists Are Coming -- And They Are Us

WARNING! WARNING! THE SOCIALISTS ARE COMING! BARACK OBAMA WANTS TO SPREAD THE WEALTH!

Of all the scare tactics employed in this election season, this latest gambit by the McCain-Palin ticket is among the most ludicrous, and would be amusing if it were not for the seriousness with which some people are fearing Armageddon.

Come on, people. Sharing the wealth has always been an American tradition. Sometimes it’s achieved through the largesse of individuals. On other occasions religious and charitable organizations undertake the task of distributing generous donations collected from individuals and businesses. And frequently, we rely upon government to assist us in spreading around the wealth.

Nor is our socialization limited to sharing the wealth. We’re also a nation given to sharing risk and to collectively carrying the burden of catastrophe or disaster. That’s a major part of what defines us as a civilization.

In a little over a month our community will unite behind one of the most incredible annual acts of generosity in which each of us takes pride - the Annual WLNH Children’s Auction. Literally hundreds of local residents volunteer their time, energy and money to this charitable endeavor, and hundreds more anxiously await the opportunity to bid on items they don’t necessarily want or need, frequently donating them back for resale, or providing them for use by other charitable organizations and groups.

This year each of us will be asked once again to pay a share of our income to support the County Nursing home, committed to ensuring our elderly a safe, secure and healthy life no matter their economic or familial circumstances. I’ve not met anyone who believes we should turn these people out on the streets to fend for themselves.

Each month thousands of seniors in the Lakes Region rely upon a check arriving in the mail from Social Security. Get the name? Social Security? It’s socialism, my friends. We’re all asked to contribute a portion of our income to ascertain that seniors and the disabled are not abandoned to poverty. All of us contribute during our working years to support those generations that came before us, and we expect that ensuing generations will continue that tradition.

And what is Medicare but socialized medicine? Again, we all contribute to the pot because we don’t believe being old should mean being denied health care services that are beyond one’s ability to pay.

Let’s look at insurance. All insurance. The purpose of insurance is to share the risk and the costs. It’s a socialization of risk. I’ve driven an automobile for over forty years, dutifully paying my insurance premiums which have amounted to tens of thousands of dollars. Yet the only claim I’ve ever filed cost the carrier $450 and that was in 1970. Nevertheless, I still regard insurance as an important expenditure.

Rarely does a day pass when I don’t traverse at least a segment of our streets and roadways, crossing bridges, passing beneath viaducts, all on a complex network built by shared contributions.

When I awaken in the morning the first thing I do is flip on the kitchen light and brew a pot of coffee, trusting that electricity will flow into my home unless some dastardly storm or errant vehicle has somehow interrupted the transmission system. Like you, I share in the cost of supporting the nation’s electrical grid, aware that it’s highly unlikely that I’d be able to generate my individual energy needs without incurring monumental expenses.

Within minutes of pouring my first cup of coffee I’m greeted by the outdoor sounds of children heading off to school, another collective cost that we share. Yes, our schools are expensive, consuming a large slice of our local tax dollars, yet few of us fail to recognize that public education is a necessary and valuable investment, providing lifetime rewards.

Over the past five years New Hampshire has sacrificed 23 lives in Iraq and another five in Afghanistan. Laconia residents have contributed in excess of $30 million to the costs of the wars. It’s a collective burden, borne most heavily by those families who’ve lost loved ones, yet apportioned to all of us.

Barack Obama has come to the conclusion that too much of the shared burden has fallen upon the middle class, and that for eight years the Bush administration has shifted much of the onus onto future generations, compiling nearly $5 trillion in debt that will be a millstone around the necks of our children and grandchildren. That kind of irresponsibility must stop.

We face serious and expensive problems, from two wars to crumbling infrastructure, and from energy dependence to a financial meltdown. Fixing these problems is going to be costly and necessary. And it can’t be done by bankrupting the middle class.

So yes, the wealthiest among us are going to have to pay a bit more. That’s the American way. We’re all in this together, sharing the same ship of state. It’s time to set aside the petty bickering and senseless name calling and recognize that each of us has a responsibility for our nation’s future. And if John McCain is so opposed to sharing burdens perhaps he should give up his government funded health insurance and disability pension. After all, he and his wife are worth an estimated $150 million.