Greeting Leaders!
The other night my wife and I were discussing the Great Depression for a paper she was writing for a class on Democratic Citizenship. The readings for the class included philosophical debates about Capitalism, Socialism and Communism leading up to the New Deal put in place by President Roosevelt.
I love my country for many reasons. One of the positives is to be compensated for the amount of work I am willing to do. I work hard and smart, and there is a good chance I can make more money. However, there is something wrong with Government and Corporate America today. This problem centers not around Capitalism, but on Unbridled Capitalism.
Leaders (especially those in Government, Corporate America and Unions), many of you have great power and wealth. You have much more than the average American. But, with power and wealth also comes great responsibility. To ignore this responsibility, is criminal. Society consists of those that have, and those that have not. Those that have not… the poor, the needy, the destitute, need to be cared for. To argue otherwise, is insanity. I am not arguing for social sensitivity based on a soft heart, although I do care for others, but out of necessity. History has repeatedly shown that if a majority of the populace becomes poor, that revolution occurs.
While we could argue about the causes of drug abuse, child abuse, gang activity, violence at home, violence in the workplace and crime in general, one cannot deny that economic prosperity, or the lack of it, does play a role. Does it not make sense to ensure that the poor have enough, to be happy?
Leaders, we need you to put programs in place to care for the needy, in order to ensure that freedom can be maintained. Corporate leaders, if you don’t want government intervention, you need to even the balance between the have and have nots. Government leaders, you need to oversee corporate activities, but remember, if you take too much control, freedom will disappear on a large scale. Union leaders, you need to fight for rights for your workers, but to expect to be paid richly, for little work, is a detriment to those willing to work hard to get ahead. There is a fair days wage for a fair days work somewhere out there. It is your job to help define it.
All the best!
All the time!
JT
Related articles
- Stephen Herrington: It’s Not 1994 Again, It’s 1934 Again (huffingtonpost.com)
- Is What’s Good for Corporate America Still Good For America? (blogs.hbr.org)
