Joe the Plumber and the American Dream

Joe the Plumber has a dream, and (The Liberal Democratic Machine) Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and the media are trying to take away his American Dream. Instead of facing the question that Joe, Sam, or whatever his name is, they are trying to dig up dirt on Joe. It’s not important what his real name is, if he has licenses, or how much his back taxes are. And why did Obama and Biden question how much money he makes as a plumber?

What they are doing is avoiding the answer to Joe’s question. That’s because Obama’s answer paints him as a modern-day Robin Hood. He wants to rob from the rich and give to the poor. Obama said, “I want to make sure that everybody who is behind ya, that they have a chance for success too. I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everyone.”

That, my friends, is socialism. What he wants is income redistribution. What he forgets is that everyone does have the same chance for success. We are all entitled to an education. In America we can choose the career path that we want. The American Dream is belief that allows all of us the chance to achieve our goals in life through hard work. And now Obama wants to penalize the people who make the right choices and make the most of them. He wants to take away that dream. When you do that, you take away the incentives people have to produce?

The danger with this is that Joe and all the other people out there with dreams will get upset that government is taking too much of their money and they have to work too hard to make even more money. They will throw their hands up in the air and say enough is enough. They will come over to the other side and take money from the government. For those who say that won’t happen. Think again. It happened this week when Hawaii decided to drop the only state universal child health care program in the country. Families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan.
"People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don't believe that was the intent of the program."

Obviously, there will always be people who will slip between the cracks but, there is already a system to take care of these people. There are government programs and private charities in place to help these people. What Obama wants is welfare for the middle class by taking away from the people who already pay the most taxes. Did you know that 86% of all federal income taxes are paid by the top 25% of income earners? Infact, the top 50% pay 97% of all taxes. The top 1% pays 39% of the taxes. And Obama wants to take more from them. Of the people he wants to give this money to, 40% do not pay taxes. There is a better way. The tax cuts by George Bush actually increased revenue. The increase in taxes to the top 5% that Obama wants could hurt the people that Obama wants to help forcing the small business man to cut costs and jobs.

This country was built on the dreams of people like Joe the Plumber. Its people like Joe who purchase the small businesses that give you your job. If we elect Barack Obama to raise taxes on these people, who will be there to hire you? Have you ever gotten a job from a poor person?

Rebutting the ‘Catholic but…’

The following is Bishop Olmsted’s column from The Catholic Sun for Lent 2004 (March 18, 2004 Issue). It is a great article that is as timeless today as it was back when it was written. It is our daily ‘how to’ guide for living our lives as Catholics. It should be a way of life, not just during Lent but for every day.

Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted Bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix

© Copyright 2004-2008 The Catholic Sun. Reprinted with permission. Visitwww.catholicsun.org.

“I am a Catholic businessman but I don’t let the Church influence what I do at the office or in the boardroom;” but Jesus says (Mt 7:21), “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

“I am a Catholic politician but I don’t let my Catholicism impact on how I vote or what legislation I promote;” but Jesus says (Mt 7:26-27), “Everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

“I am a Catholic physician but I don’t let my faith mold my decisions regarding abortion, contraception, or other medical practices;” but Jesus says Mt 5:37), “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”

“I am a Catholic talk show host but I don’t let the Church inhibit my right to say whatever I want on the air;” but in the Letter of James, God says (2:17) “Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

“I am a Catholic priest but I don’t let Magisterial teaching keep me from dissenting from moral or doctrinal points nor let it limit my own ‘pastoral solutions’;” but at ordination each priest professes a solemn oath, “I believe everything contained in God’s Word, written or handed down in tradition and proposed by the Church… I also firmly accept and hold each and every thing that is proposed by the Church definitively regarding teaching on faith and morals.”

Lent is the time to kick the “Catholic but...” out of our own daily lives. It is the time to expunge rationalization from our minds and to root out compromise from our hearts. Lent is the time to say a determined “No” to the temptation to water down our faith for personal gain. It is the time to say a much larger “Yes” to Jesus and His Gospel of Life. Lent is the time for Totus Tuus, the time to renew our commitment to love God with all our mind and heart and strength.

The “Catholic but…” syndrome stands in direct contradiction to Jesus’ clear and unequivocal demand (Mk 8:34-36), “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”

The “Catholic but…” syndrome is not without precedent in history. The fact that Jesus Himself directly and frequently opposed such rationalization shows its prevalence 2000 years ago. How often we are tempted to separate what we do in Church from what we do at home, to isolate what we believe from how we vote or what we do at work or at leisure. How easily we can compartmentalize our lives, thus keeping our adherence to Christ from shaping all that we say and do. This is why the formation of conscience holds such a pivotal role in our effort to grow to full maturity in Christ.

Each Lent, the Church urges us to rekindle our love for Jesus and to take a closer look at how completely we are taking up the Cross that fidelity to Him entails. This means we need to examine our consciences, and to insure that they are formed on the solid foundation of the Gospel.

During these 40 days before the Easter Triduum, the Father shines new light upon our souls so we can discover (or rediscover) the essential connection between truth and freedom, and between faith and culture. When freedom is detached from truth, objectivity goes out the window, relativism reigns, and ethical chaos gives rise to the “Catholic but…” It becomes impossible to establish right from wrong, good from evil. The pursuit of holiness is thrown off course.

To take the time, then, during Lent to form our consciences more fully in accordance with objective truth (known from God’s Revelation and the natural law) not only brings wholeness and integrity to our personal lives; it also makes it possible for us to bring healing and reconciliation to society. Let us take advantage, then, of this Lenten season 2004 to engage seriously in the pursuit of truth and freedom. Here are some concrete suggestions for doing so:


Ask the Holy Spirit for His gifts of courage and understanding, humility and right judgment.
Consult the Catechism of the Catholic Church to find clear teaching about the moral conscience and its correct formation (See paragraphs #1776-1802).
Consider your own family situation, your work and your civic duties, and then ask: “Do I live my whole life as a vocation and a mission from the Lord?”
Carve out a few days for a spiritual retreat or at least set aside half a day to go apart from everyday life and examine, with God’s help, how you are integrating the gift of faith in all dimensions of your life. On the first day of Lent each year, the Lord says to us through St. Paul (2 Cor 6:2), “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Now is the time to rebut the “Catholic but…” It is the time to say “Yes” when we mean “Yes,” and to say “No” when we mean “No.” Lent is the time to profess our Catholic faith with gratitude and to put every part of it into practice.