Every single presidential
candidate is promising that he or she will make our lives better if we elect
him or her to the White House. He or she will give us change, offer us hope,
make our breath sweeter, make us more prosperous, more productive, happier,
better educated, holier and healthier if we cast our vote for him or her.
Presidents simply cannot
change much for most of us. For the huge majority of Americans, how much we
earn, how healthy we are, how well our kids are educated, that’s all up to us,
not the federal government. No government program will make us middle class or
rich if we don’t get educated in some way and work hard. No government program
will make us healthy if we eat too much or smoke or drink too much, or don’t
get exercise. The government cannot provide a lavish retirement for us if we
don’t save and invest well. Oh, and all that money the candidates promise to
spend? That’s your money, not their money, they’re spending.
In a free society, what we
are and who we are depends on us, except for the very most poor among us, where
the government can indeed make a difference. But for the huge bulk of us
Americans, no matter what any Republican or any Democrat promises, it’s up to
the people in our house, not the White House. For most of us, what the
politicians say is just sideshow barking, and when the circus leaves town we’ve
got to get back to basics: work, save and teach your children well, and enjoy
the political show. But it’s just show business, not real business.
Ben Stein,
CBS News: Sunday Morning
Forbes Magazine, May 19, 2008
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