The quotes from the last post are, of course, from Francisco d'Anconia in the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.  They go straight to the heart of the matter of how people's thinking is divided these days.  Understanding wealth and the truth of economic prosperity are critical to long-term survival of a nation or company or entrepreneur.  Misplaced compassion which taxes the engine of intiative and gives to the unproductive, to the uninformed, sounds so good on its face.  It also works very well at the voting booth.  All one has to do is appeal to some group by using the power of either envy or greed, promising something for nothing, taken from others for their benefit, and explained under banners like "unfair," "equality of results," and "windfall profits."  Those that propose such programs are either extremely ignorant of the truth of how economics work, or they know very well how things work but are willing to destroy the productive for the sake of their own power.  In other words, they are either ignorant idealists with misplaced compassion, or cold-hearted power brokers rising on the destruction of the contributors. 

     These thoughts are important to mull over as we face an important national election.  Either the government is in charge of handling the wealth of a nation and distributing to whom it pleases in the moment, or the productive people and business owners who actually create the wealth in the first place are to be left in charge of the fruits of their own production.  The more a nation moves in the former direction, the less freedom its people have.  The more it moves in the latter direction, the more freedom its people have.  And both tend to develop momentum in their continued direction.  Governments that seize assets and distribute them to those who didn't have an initiative to produce them tend to grab more and more power over time, until the groups that were initially served by its redistribution are its next victims.  On the other hand, when a government leaves its productive creators free to own their own first-fruits, incentive is increased and even more brilliant output results.     

Once upon a time there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered some grains of wheat. She called her neighbors and said 'If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?'

"Not I, " said the cow.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will," said the little red hen. And she did. The wheat grew tall and ripened into golden grain. "Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Out of my classification," said the pig.

"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.

"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will," said the little red hen, and she did.

At last the time came to bake the bread. "Who will help me bake bread?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.

"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.

"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.

"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will," said the little red hen.

She baked five loaves and held them up for the neighbors to see.

They all wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, "No, I can eat the five loaves myself."

"Excess profits," cried the cow.

"Capitalist leech," screamed the duck.

"I demand equal rights," yelled the goose.

And the pig just grunted.

And they painted "unfair" picket signs and marched round and around the little red hen shouting obscenities.

When the government agent came, he said to the little red hen, "You must not be greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said the agent. "That's the wonderful free enterprise system. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations productive workers must divide their products with the idle."

And they lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, I am grateful." But her neighbors wondered why she never again baked any more bread.

(Author unknown, but very smart).