Ryan ChartrandPatrick Molnar’s most recent column, in which he decries President Bush’s economic legacy very poorly, addresses the true aspects of our situation.
An underlying assumption of the article is that the presidency is responsible for the economic well-being of the country, which is untrue. Presidential actions and policies undoubtedly affect the economy, but that is only incidental to the presidency’s purpose – the true sources of economic function is normal people.
Are the rich getting richer? Of course they are. Are the poor getting poorer? It seems so. But the rich get rich because they provide products and services which are voluntarily purchased by the masses. They get rich by accepting risk and taking initiative to do what people want them to do – and most importantly, they do it under the same rules as everyone else.
The president does not decide how much money we save or spend – we do. If we spend more than we earn, it is due to our irresponsible pursuit of stuff. All of the money that is not taken by the government is ours to spend or invest as wisely or as foolishly as we choose.
Everyone is working under the same rules – most of us just choose to squander our skills and opportunities. The rich are rich because they supply wisely. The poor are poor because they demand foolishly. There are many reasons to dislike President Bush, but the irresponsibility of the masses is not one of them.