We need a real Robin Hood

Everyone knows the tale of Robin Hood and how he stole from the rich and gave to the poor, but what would you say if I told you that the premise of the story is not true? Fact is, he and his merry men risked all to steal from the government (the king) and gave back to the tax payers (the poor). He had many rich friends, like Maid Marian, from whom he never stole. It was always the Sheriff of Nottingham and the lords who profited from the taxes that he would ambush in the woods. Robin never went to the merchants and took from them, because they, like the average citizen, were overly taxed. His sole focus was the sheriff and the other lords who went around “raping” the people of all that they had earned. I point this out because in our modern day we have President Obama who came into office like Errol Flynn swinging in with all the flair of the hero in the classic black and white film. He stood there with a smile saying, “I am going to take from the rich and give to the poor,” and people ate it up in heaps because of the fear stirred up by the media.

But now we have regrets, because we are further in debt and have even more unemployment than predicted. By electing Obama, people didn’t get Robin Hood, instead they got the Sheriff of Nottingham. And instead of robbing from the rich, he is imposing more taxes, including increased taxes on your bosses along with other planned taxes that will prevent businesses from hiring or expanding. We will soon have higher healthcare premiums as well. All of this makes the other lords (Pelosi, Reed, Frank) happy.

What we need is a modern day Robin Hood (regardless of party) who will take back from the government what it has wrongfully taken (through over taxation) from the tax payers and who, instead of using the sword, will use answers and reason to fight an increasingly oppressive federal government. Our modern day Robin would push to end an entitlement society that allows people to steal the hard earned dollars from you and me and puts into effect an incentive policy that makes people want to work—instead of sitting at home living off of Social Security disability or welfare. [You know them. They are the ones you heard talking about how to get on the welfare rolls even though they are fully capable of working.] Our Robin would know that the answer to helping everyone includes implementing a Fair Tax (which makes us more competitive on the world markets), term limits (to prevent the problem of life-long members), tort reform (which would include the end to the class action suits), smaller government (get rid of redundancy) and the implementation of laws that encourage the medical system to fix the problems and provide what doctors and patients want.

I would like people to know that I am being general about people on welfare, Social Security disability and other programs—but the system is rife with people who are able to work, yet choose to take the easy route in life that requires little more than to show up for the check and keep complaining about medical problems.

Robin Hood took from the government and gave back to the tax payers, because he knew that what was rightfully theirs should not be taken away in order for those in government to just continue to increase their influence. A Robin Hood like this is what I would call a real hero. The question is: where is he and would anyone actually support him besides me?

Jimmie T. Smith

(With editing by Gail Hollenbeck)