Ummmmm, is this heading towards "Obama hates rich people" and/or "the current administration (code for Obama) is turning us into a socialist state"? 'Cause it sure seems to be leaning in that direction (by inference).

Here is what is ironic to me. Most of this rhetoric is coming from the religious right. You know, the same ones who swear that every single word in the Bible is true (after all, it's the word of God.......although conveniently written and interpreted by men). Doesn't the Bible say something about it being harder for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of Heaven than for a camel to get through the eye of a needle. I guess in the world of wealthy right wing conservatives, needle eyes are damn big or camels are damn small.

Personally, I think everyone should have the opportunity to secure wealth. The question (for me) is what they did to become wealthy. Did they produce a product like Bill Gates or did they make 4 billion dollars in one year by simply managing a hedge fund (and producing nothing that benefited society). There is the guy in the Midwest that owns a grocery chain (starting with nothing) and has amassed a fortune of 5 Billion dollars. He has given most of it away (in educational scholarships) and either takes public transportation (a bus) to work or drives his 15yr old Volvo 240.

Does a drug smuggler deserve to be rich? I don't think so, even though it probably took considerable skills to be able to put together and successfully run a drug cartel. So yes, I think there is a moral component to this whole debate. Does the Church deserve to be rich (as many are, notably the Catholic church and several Evangelical 'empires')? I don't think so. They may do many 'good works' with the money they rake in (mainly through fear, guilt, and other forms of psychological manipulation), but should they get rich in the process? It's like the Red Cross or United Way using 20% of your donations for their stated missional goal, and the rest for 'administrative overhead'. Yeah, right.

But to the basic issue of who deserves to be wealthy? Anyone who earned it in a legal and non-exploitative way. What they do with it should be completely up to them and their own sense of morality (which is not up to us to judge, BTW). This is my take of it, of course, and not necessarily the right one.

chas