No, You Can’t

by John Samples - May 30th, 2008 - The American Spectator

In 2005, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 68 percent of the general population agreed that "Most people who want to get ahead can make it if they're willing to work hard." They also found that about 80 percent of Americans agree that "everyone has it in their own power to succeed."

Some Americans, however, are not optimistic. In 2005, the Pew Research Center identified a group called Disadvantaged Democrats. . .

DISADVANTAGED DEMOCRATS differ from most Americans on personal responsibility. Only 14 percent think that people can get ahead by working hard. Seventy-nine percent say that hard work does not guarantee success, and 76 percent hold that view strongly.

The Pew researchers also note that only 44 percent of Disadvantaged Democrats say that everyone has the power to succeed, while 47 percent take the fatalistic view that success in life is determined by forces outside one's own control. Not surprisingly, this group strongly supports more government spending on the poor. For these voters, wealth comes from government largesse rather than individual effort.

Thus, the Disadvantaged Democrats accept the insidious view that greed, wanting something for nothing, is an honorable goal of voting. To the Disadvantaged Democrat, they have a right to take money from others, who they see as rich. Who are the rich? Anyone who is better off than they are.