August 16, 2012

Obama's Shared Prosperity: A Euphemism Wrapped in a Lie

By Daren Jonescu
(See also: "From the Giving Pledge to Totalitarianism") Those who believed, in 2008, that Obama's off-the-cuff "spread the wealth around" line was indicative of his real, socialistic intentions, rather than simply a poor word choice, can now relax.  The president has finally clarified things, this time with the benefit of a script, so at last we can understand his true plans.  As it turns out, his remark to Joe the Plumber was merely a gaffe after all.  For we now know that when he said "spread the wealth," what he really meant was "share the prosperity."  See the difference?  No?  Then allow me to unpack it for you. "Spread the wealth around" sounded like the casual remark of a tone-deaf authoritarian, someone used to speaking to rooms full of like-minded leftists.  The problem lay chiefly in the word "spread": so impersonal, it gives the impression that someone -- Obama obviously meant government -- should just forcibly disperse the successful...(Read Full Article)