You must have health insurance, a good job or retirement, and already have a nice car? Good for you!

Indeed, all obtained through hard work.

I am my brother's keeper as well, but I don't believe that robbing my neighbor through the force of government is a way to achieve that end either.

Robbery is robbery no matter who is doing it. You can't elect someone to perform something (robbery) that you don't have a right to do in
as an individual.

Remember, keep it rational Bonkers.

If what you propose (let those with needs help those without, voluntarily)worked, then I might agree.
It does not and has not worked.
Granted some have made great progress by stealth, aggressiveness, luck, and inheritance, with Little manual labor--but with much mental conniving, but some can't and won't do that!

It won't cost you personally very much to have an insurance program for everyone.

I know you think if we don't leave the current system alone for everything that those who are aggressive will become the majority.
Progress will cease then, you think.
It ain't gonna happen, but if we don't do something for the necessities, they will take over violently as they have in the ancient past.
How much would blacks have learned by now if the schools had stayed segregated? Much less that is for sure. No Obama's would exist, no Clarence Thomases, few black doctors, few black professors, few Eric Holders, few Colin Powells, few Condi Rices, on and on! (and especially manning our armies!)

I am afraid you are making generalizations about people that have wealth. You seem to believe that all wealth was created by luck, inheritance or “stealth”. I assume you mean that people derived their wealth in some nefarious way. If this is what you are saying then your premise is that all wealth was ill gotten. Do you really believe this? Don’t you think that if all profitable endeavors were based on luck or crime that our system would simply collapse? Certainly you would agree that ability, skill and hard work must also play a role. In fact wouldn’t you agree that without these three qualities it is likely that the net effect would be shrinking wealth? The outcome of your premise would be crooked lucky people fighting over what’s left of wealth, while talented, skilled and hard working people would just stop working. It wouldn’t be in their interest to create wealth if they were robbed of it. Right?

The wealthy people of this country have given and continue to give generously to charities. There are too many foundations to list in this e-mail to prove this point. If the government wasn’t involved in transferring wealth, these people would give even more because they would have more to give.

The fact that it won’t cost me very much personally to provide universal insurance coverage doesn’t justify theft by the government of my money. The Constitution was not written to justify wealth transfer, in fact the Founders specifically argued against this concept.

I am not sure what point you are trying to make concerning American Blacks, however you seem to underestimate their ability to achieve greatness without the helping hand of government. You are dead wrong on this point. The government’s job is to provide equal opportunity for all people, but not greater opportunity for some. I am confident that there are hundreds of thousands of Black people in this country that did not gain their wealth through government programs, but through their talent, abilities, and very hard work. To suggest otherwise is demining to these successful people. The successful African Americans you mention would have been successful either way, of this I am confident.

Of course all wealthy people didn't get that way by being a crook. I didn't say that.
My intention was to stop people from saying all wealthy people who don't want others to have health care free because they got their wealth from "hard work."

It is hard to imagine anyone getting wealthy doing "hard work."
Hard work is pick and shovel or the like.

I know they are referring to those who do not have a job primarily, but if they did have one doing "hard work" they would not get rich that way and only that way.

Well Bonkers I don't know your background or where you were raised, but where I come from most of the wealthy forged ahead using not only their muscles but their brains. They did it honestly and they did it through their abilities, hard work, and skills. In other words they won in the marketplace based on these characterisitics.

Simply because they won, doesn't give you or anyone else the "right" to rob them through your representative in government. This is no better than an organized gang that elects a common highwayman with a title to steal for them.