One of the things that has always bothered me about economic discussions is the use of the term “working-class” or “working Americans.”
I was raised in a “blue-collar” or “working-class” town.
I am the product of divorced parents and I went to college on student loans.
I am a dentist, which, because of the high degree (and expense!) of professional training, is a relatively well-compensated career. I am considered a “white-collar worker” and do not fall into that class of worker bees known as “working Americans.”
Why is that?
Did I not work hard to complete my professional training?
Do I not work extremely hard to earn that level of compensation?
Why, then, do I deserve to be unfairly taxed on income that I worked so hard to earn? And why am I penalized when some of that hard-earned money has earned me dividends?
All that our founding fathers intended our government to accomplish was to protect our citizens, ensure our rights and freedoms, and provide a level playing field so that anyone who is born in America (or immigrates here) can succeed. Opportunities abound here, for people who are willing to work hard for them.
I came from that lower income bracket that everyone is talking so loudly about today. I worked my tail off to earn an education (that I am still paying for!), which provides me with a rather comfortable income.
I work my tail off to earn that money.
It is time to end the stereotyping of income brackets, and time to end the practice of penalizing Americans for being successful in their chosen fields. Those folks in lower-income America have the same opportunities available to them that I did. All they have to do is work to take advantage of those opportunities. Quit complaining. Quit blaming everyone else for your lot in life. And do the work!
