Jeb Bush wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal this week on capitalism and the “right to rise.”
We can’t help but think of Texas Gov. Ann Richards’ put-down of his brother: “Poor George, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”
For good measure, we’ll throw in commentator Jim Hightower’s observation that their father was born on third base but “thought he had hit a triple.”
It’s not that the well-born have no rights to wealth and success.
But it does rub the wrong way when they preach, as Jeb Bush does, about a world “where the individual is allowed to succeed only so much before being punished with ruinous taxation.”
Obviously, such policies will be the ruin of the Bush family, whose affluence and connections have led them to two generations in the White House and national office in three states.
The argument Bush makes for capitalism is supposedly based on merit unfettered by government.
Our argument for democracy is for representation also based on merit - unfettered by money or dynastic entitlement.
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1 Comments
#1. Andy Crossfield 12.26.2011
To hear Jeb Bush speak about how education is on the wrong course and how he would reallocate the money spent on it makes a Floridian like me shudder.
We lived through his implementation of W’s ‘no child left behind’, and the mandated Florida Comprehensive Aptitude Test (scored and developed by a family friend’s corporation for big bucks), that had our teachers ready to revolt and quit the profession that they loved; watched our kids failing at important but untaught skills needed in life; all while making a mockery of the separation of church and state through the repeated attempts to implement vouchers that would divert public money to be used for private schooling.
There are those who say Jeb is the ’smart’ brother… but that doesn’t make him less a danger to all he touches! Take it from a Floridian… run away from Jeb Bush as fast as you can!
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