by
Dr. Wayne Dyer
I
am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Frankly, I still have difficulty with
the labels, “conservative” and “liberal.” Those who know me have never
been able to pigeonhole me. I relate to Kierkergaards's observation. "Once
you label me, you negate me." In truth, I am a working stiff.
I attended the
I have worked all my
life, paid my taxes, supported my family and continue to "chop wood and
carry water," while being totally perplexed by what I hear coming out of
the mouths of our politicians. As a working stiff who has earned enough to be in
that top 1% income bracket, here is what I would like you, the politicians, to
hear as you go about the business of government. These are views shared by most
of the people I speak to every day, in all income brackets.
YOU ARE NOT OUR LEADERS.
No one that I know goes
to sleep at night saying, "My leaders are in
No politician was
responsible for leading us in the struggle for civil rights. Rosa Parks was a
leader. Those who marched and ignored the racist laws passed by lawmakers were
the leaders of the civil rights movements.
Who were the leaders of
the Renaissance? The office holders? The politicians? No! The leaders were those
who brought the world a new consciousness through their writing, art, music, and
through challenging the entrenched ideologies of the office holders. These were
the leaders.
When I hear you refer to
yourselves as our leaders, I am always amused by such arrogance. We go to work,
and send up to 50% of our earnings to you. You use our earnings to make
yourselves more privileged than we are, with unlimited medical care, overly
generous retirement guarantees, and perks galore! All that you really do is
write the rules using our funds to do so. This might be hard to accept, but try
it on for size. We are not sheep who need to be led. We need servants who care.
We are perfectly capable of leading ourselves; in fact we do it everyday.
YOU DO NOT CREATE JOBS.
I have written twenty
books, produced hundred of tapes, and given several thousand lectures over the
past twenty-five years. When I sit down and create a book I send it to an editor
who I pay to edit the manuscript. The way I see it, I just created a job. My
editor receives payment, sends in her taxes and now two are working. The editing
process involves a computer. A third job is created. The publisher copy edits
the manuscript, and a fourth job is created. This process continues through many
levels, with a job after job being created all because I decided to write a
book.
The printers,
inspectors, typesetter, delivery people, booksellers, accountants, stock boys,
cashiers, have jobs that were created because working stiffs have the ingenuity,
gumption, and desire to create and produce.
The woman who loves
flowers and decides to open a florist’s shop creates jobs. Without her desire
and sweat we wouldn't need floral coolers, delivery trucks, or growers. Nor
would we need people to grow food to feed those workers or design garments to
clothe them. The money you use to fund job producing legislation originates from
those who produce. It is really quite simple. Politicians do not create jobs.
As I see it, through the
eyes of a working stiff, politicians can pass laws which will ultimately
determine whether anyone finds being productive worth the effort any longer. If
you decide to punish me with tax rules, or over regulate me, or constantly make
my life miserable with forms, rules and regulations, I may decide that writing
another book is no longer worth the effort. If I decide that, and you multiply
me by the millions of us who produce wealth and jobs, you will see that you do
not produce jobs or wealth with our policies.
You print money. You
regulate. You pass laws. But we produce jobs. We create wealth by working and
producing, not by sitting in committees and talking up our self-importance.
ACT ON THE BASIS OF WHAT
IS MORAL AND FAIR, NOT ON HOW MAY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED.
I heard over and over in
the election debate that the inheritance tax should remain because only 2% of
the population is affected by this tax. I have paid all of the taxes I owe to my
government. What is left is mine to do with as I please.
My death ought not
trigger another tax on my remaining savings that have been already taxed. It
does not matter if the tax affects one person or a million people. It is simply
wrong. When our ancestors moved to abolish slavery, they didn't say, "Only
2% of the populations is enslaved, so let's keep this practice lawful."
They finally realized that slavery was wrong, and morally wrong.
Let those who aspire to
greater abundance in their lives do so knowing that politicians are not going to
confiscate it at the moment of their death. Do what's right; what's moral, even
when it affects only a small percentage of the population.
STOP MIXING PERCENTAGES
AND DOLLAR AMOUNTS AS A RATIONALE FOR YOUR PHILOSOPHY.
If there is a surplus in
tax revenues it is an overpayment and belongs to those who sent it in. It ought
to be returned in the same lawful proportion that it was sent in.
If I paid one million
dollars in taxes it is not so outrageous that I should have returned to me
higher dollar amount that someone who sent in two thousand dollars in taxes. To
say that the wealthy will receive $18,000 each while the poor will only receive
$18.00 in a tax cut is a spurious argument. If you paid no tax, you get not a
tax cut. You can't cut zero and get something back. If you paid $200.00 in tax
and you get a $40.00 refund that is a 20% tax cut. If you paid $500,000 in tax
and you get back $20,000 that is only a 4% tax cut.
It stands to simple
reason and fair play that if you are going to ask the top 10% of the income
earner to foot over 50% of the tax bills, then when it comes time to cut the
taxes and return the surpluses, it ought to go back to the taxpayers in the same
proportion. Similarly, if the bottom 40% of wage earners pays no taxes, then
they get no refund. It may not appeal to most voters, but it makes sense to this
working stiff who has been in all of those tax brackets at one time or another
in his life.
WE DON'T NEED YOU FIGHT
FOR US.
"I'll fight for
you," seems to be the mantra of the modern politician. Just who are you
fighting anyways? Aren't you all there in
I would like for you to
work for me, not fight. Tell me what you are for, rather than what you oppose. I
don't need to see any more debates. You are not running against anyone. You have
no opponents. The person who is on the ballot with you is not someone you need
to fight. Just tell me what you support and how you intend to make it happen,
and let other candidate do the same. I don't need you to fight. I need you to
state your vision clearly and commit to bringing it about.
In 1967 Mother Theresa
was asked t o march against the war in
*YOU DON'T EMPOWER US,
WE ARE ALREADY POWERFUL.
My most disconcerting
moments in the election season were hearing, "We're for the people, they're
for the powerful," and then seeing this slogan as a
Inherent in such a
phrase is the idea that the people are not powerful, only those who are well off
are empowered. Generations after generation of people in
I want to hear you say,
"You are powerful, you are connected to the divine and with God you can
accomplish anything you make up your mind to do. If you see others who appear to
be more powerful than you, then associate with them emulate their strengths.
Create a powerful vision for yourself. Don't find fault with those who have
elevated themselves. Learn from them, find your own serenity and grace and know
that you are powerful. I'll support such a vision in all legislation. Keep your
hopes high."
In “Wisdom of The
Ages” I wrote an essay based upon Michelangelo's observation "The
greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it,
but that it is too low and we reach it." I want to hear you speak of high
hopes, of the power of our spirit, a spirit that knows no favorites and is in
each and every one of us.
DON'T GIVE YOURSELF WHAT
YOU DENY TO THOSE WHO PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE!
If we send a portion of
our income to you, don't use that money to vote yourself benefits that we are
denied. If you get universal medical coverage paid for by those of us who
created wealth, then be sure to grant it by law to all of us. If you get to
retire with 90% of your paycheck, then be sure that we who pay for it get the
same perk.
Be ever mindful of your
role. You have elected to be a servant of the people. The people own the house.
They built it. But they can't run it everyday nor can they protect it, and build
roads leading up to it. The people can't educate the children and regulate the
economy because they are too busy working. So they hire servants to handle these
duties and they pay those servants to protect, regulate, and handle the affairs
of housekeeping.
But the house is still
owned by the people. The servants don't get to make demands. The people do. The
servants don't own the funds they receive for protecting, regulating, and
delegating. The people do. It's our house. We the powerful working stiffs of
We lead ourselves
everyday, and if you want to speak to us, do it from your heart, without a
Teleprompter or a spin doctor at your side. We are honest, hard working and
straightforward. We are generous and kind to those in need. We don't need to be
coddled or lied to. We can smell insincerity and BS a mile away. We pay the
freight and keep it moving across
There is a spirit in all
of us. A spirit that urges us upward to a greater connection to that which is
just, moral and honest. We expect no less from those who have chosen to serve.
Dr.
Wayne Dyer's Home page: The
Official Dr. Wayne Dyer Website