The Middle Class
In Russia, in China, in England, in France, in Iran, and in Saudi Arabia there are rich people and there are poor people. In all forms of government, from dictatorships to democracies, there are rich people and there are poor people. With respect to the wealth of its people, what differentiates America from all other countries, and what differentiates our democracy from all other democracies and all other forms of government, is the size and vitality of our middle class. Middle class status and a middle class job were not something which was given to the American worker, but rather something that could be earned if one worked hard enough. Freedom is more important than the middle class. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are natural rights and, thus, trump being middle class, which is not a right, but rather something which must be earned. However, there are many countries and places in the world in which freedom exists and where natural rights are enjoyed by its citizens, but there is no place and no country in the history of the world that has had a middle class that could compare to the middle class in America.
The middle class is our heart, our soul, and the engine that drives our economy. The middle class worker is proud, energized, and doesn’t just do a job, but rather contributes to the solution. America’s middle class was created by the idea and belief that if one worked hard enough throughout their life, that they would be able to move up the economic ladder and that their children would have the opportunity to enjoy a better life than they did. This is what gave the American individual the drive and ambition to produce the work which has made our country the most prosperous country in the world.
To have a vibrant middle class, there must be middle class jobs which are being created by the private sector. Government has no obligation, and should not be in the business of providing these jobs. However, government should strive to provide a private sector environment, which gives the individual American, particularly the middle class American, the best chance, over the long term, of competing and winning in the global economy in which we live and work today.
Our Tax Code is essentially antiquated in that it deals with a world environment that was pre-globalization. If we are to compete and win as Americans and as America, in the world job market with which we are now faced, we must revise our Tax Code so that it partially levels the playing field and makes the business environment for the American worker and the American company as favorable as possible.
