How much are you worth?

How much money should a 6th grade science teacher make? How about the nurse who took care of you so well during your hospital stay? What about your child's school bus driver? I'll bet you think all these folks are generally underpaid? What about rock stars, professional sports players, Google, Wal-Mart, or Exxon? They are all overpaid right?

It seems as though class envy is alive and well in the good ole U.S.A. I hear comments everywhere from folks making value judgments about who should have and who shouldn't. Oil companies are frequently whipped these days by folks like Barack Obama who want to tax them extra because they make "too much." He apparently doesn't think the $2 billion Google made last quarter is too much though. So in his world, tax the oil companies a lot more but leave Google where it is at. Never mind that oil companies produce the fossil fuels which have catapulted our economy to extreme wealth. Our country's poorest are among the richest folks in most other countries.

What you never hear about in these discussions is the word 'risk.' In life, risk often determines our outcome in many areas. Risk is sometimes rewarded handsomely and other times punished mercilessly. Everyone wants to talk about what people 'should be paid' but nobody wants to talk about the risk the person took to actually earn the money.

How many of you would like to start a business and put your house up for collateral?? If your business fails, you lose your home. Kind of scary stuff. So scary that maybe I should keep getting up and going to work for the person who is taking that risk. I mean if their business fails, they lose everything, but I just go and look for another job. It might be difficult for me, but at least I don't lose everything right from the beginning. Now tell me, if the person who takes the risk of losing his home performs very well, why shouldn't they reap extraordinary rewards with high profit?? Without the potential for high profits, nobody would be out there creating jobs for the rest of us who need them.

If Lebron makes way too much money, then don't go to the games or watch him on TV. Then Lebron wouldn't make a dime. If all those baseball players are way too rich, don't go and watch them. Don't pay $100 for a seat. Don't pay $20 for an autograph. In capitalism, the market decides our fate. Does it always decide the way we would? No. Is it always fair? No. Is it sometimes cruel? Yes. But it is the best possible choice for a people desiring the opportunity to reach their potential and be rewarded for it. And it is the reason why our economy's GDP is greater than the next four countries combined.

I don't want Barack Obama and the libs. deciding who deserves and who doesn't. I like people with money. Without them none of the rest of us have jobs.