‘Enough money’ remark shows moral bankruptcy and economic illiteracy

Our president had another Joe the Plumber moment in his never-ending bid to redistribute wealth from those who have earned it to those who have not.

In a speech in Illinois in late April, the president actually said, "We're not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that's fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money."

Today on Investor's Business Daily's website, columnist Thomas Sowell nailed the definition of that remark in a single sentence: "The moral bankruptcy of the notion that third parties can decide when somebody else has 'enough' money is matched by its economic illiteracy."

For example, Sowell cites the story of robber barron John D. Rockefeller, who changed the oil industry by cutting costs and making oil cheaper for consumers. He eventually decided on his own he had enough money and donated much of it to schools and charities.

In the print version of IBD, Ralph Reiland, also an economics professor, has another take on the same Obama comment. His real world example is more current but equally telling: "So who decides when we've 'made enough money'? Should we tell Julia Roberts not to make another movie, tell her she's 'made enough'? And what about the stage hands and popcorn sellers who lose their jobs as a result?"

He then quotes Thomas Jefferson, always a good source of wisdom, "Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread."

Just wait till czars decide you've made "enough."