JFK Revisited

I had some time to catch up on reading this morning. I mostly focused on two of my favourites, Mark Steyn and Amy Alkon.

This posting by Alkon particularly caught my attention. Here's the comment I left:

As I told an elderly friend from Chicago yesterday ... Canada tried a similar socialist experiment in the 1970's under Pierre Elliott Trudeau. It was an abysmal failure and we are still paying back for the enormous borrowing he did.

Americans have failed to heed the wisdom that could be learned from every other country that has borrowed way more than it can afford. So now you all are embarking on your own socialist experiment. In the process, the Incentive of those who want to work hard, who need to work hard will be diminished, if not destroyed. You'll have fewer & fewer people working hard and more & more people looking for a hand out.

An historian with a sense of humor could provide this twist on JFK's famous line:

JFK: "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."

Obama: "And so, my American comrades: ask not what you can do for your country - demand what your country can do for you!"