Right Change: President Obama’s Wealth Re-Distribution

“To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father’s has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.” — Thomas Jefferson, letter to Joseph Milligan, April 6, 1816

A clip was released this week that shows President Barack Obama in 1998 speaking to a crowd at Loyola University about what he believed to be the proper role of government in the United States. In the recording, Obama says he wants to "resuscitate this notion that we're all in this thing together, leave nobody behind, we do have to be innovative in thinking how – what are the delivery systems that are actually effective and meet people where they live.”

Seems somewhat reasonable to want to help as many people as possible out of poverty, but it’s the next portion that has conservatives concerned about the “philosophy“ of the Commander-in-Chief.

"I think the trick is figuring out how do we structure government systems that pool resources and hence facilitate some redistribution – because I actually believe in some redistribution, at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody's got a shot.”

The Romney campaign and other conservatives have characterized the President’s statement as a ringing endorsement of redistributing wealth. Many conservatives argue redistributing wealth is very close to socialist ideology; which is the norm in many European countries.

Appearing on Fox news yesterday Romney said, "The President's view is one of larger government. There's a tape that came out today where the President's saying he likes redistribution. I disagree. I think a society based upon a government centered nation where government plays a larger and larger role, redistributes money, that's the wrong course for America; that will not build a stronger America, or help people out of poverty."

The Obama Loyola University video release comes off the tail of the release of a Mitt Romney fundraiser video that has sent the presidential candidate from Massachusetts scrambling to play defense on comments he made saying “47% of Americans pay no income tax.”

Strikingly, a recent CNBC poll showed that 75% of readers agreed with Romney’s comments, which may motivate the Romney campaign to “get tough” and hammer down on the differences between liberal and conservative principles and clearly express to the American people why a Romney Presidency would be different from what we’ve seen since 2008.

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