Las Vegas Sun

June 3, 2012

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Letter to the editor:

Money redistribution nothing new in U.S.

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 | 2:02 a.m.

The John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign is making a huge issue about Sen. Barack Obama’s comments regarding redistribution of wealth.

I admit that Obama’s off-the-cuff comments were poorly chosen. However, redistributing wealth is what the U.S. government does — and has done for the 60 years I’ve been on the planet.

Our federal income taxes are deposited into one giant coffer. From there, our senators and congressmen make the decision as to how this money is spent — and how the pork is distributed. The tax dollars that residents of densely populated, wealthier California pay into the system do not automatically return to California for state projects.

Instead, they may go to a state such as New Mexico, which is sparsely populated, much poorer and ranks high on the welfare rolls. In fact, in recent history, New Mexico has received more of your tax dollars per capita than any other state. This is the way the U.S. government works.

How do you think that Bridge to Nowhere was going to be built? Not by the tax dollars generated from the residents of sparsely populated Alaska, but with the tax dollars paid to the federal government by the residents of the Lower 48. Redistribution of wealth? Of course it is, and always has been.

All those Republicans who believe redistribution of wealth is something Obama invented — I invite you to go back to school, revisit Civics 101, and learn about how your government really works.

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