The Occasional Observer

Gentlemen of caliber on par with my own
(Those that know me may claim there are none)
May seem uncouth, wretched or slovenly to some
But I will describe without farce, satire or pun
The perception of those who insult with “elite”
Especially those who propose suckling the teat
Of government programs created to assist
The least among us, when ought to persist
The notions of Hayek, Rand, von Mises and Smith

If you’ve not read then you may have missed
That when men are given freedom to pursue
Life, liberty and happiness, soon will ensue
Hard work, innovation and the prosperity of few
Which then spreads to the management, partners and crew
Of the companies they create to offer fair trade
Of value for value for the products they’ve made


Through risk and reward, supply and demand
The winners made plain by invisible hand
Not picked by the President or his servile minions
By the unions or protests or media opinions
“Too big to fail” is not in our vocabulary
The forces enforced not by constabulary
But by consumers, in whom we trust
As better arbiters of boom or of bust
Than regulations designed to defend
The weak (or the earth) but in the end
Contradict the goals they purport
And harm those they wish to support


A concept like minimum wage assumes
Employers will hire as many, as soon
When in truth after crunching her annual budget
Should her total increase she will not begrudge it
To lay off ten percent of her force
When if you asked her workers they would, of course
Prefer to have work at six twenty five an hour
Than to be jobless, idle and dour
At eight forty nine with no job and no power

The unions were started to try to instate
Fairness and safety, designed to abate
Abuses of power and safety violation
They devolved to become the causation
Of rules and regulation
That caused the cessation
Of rewards for merit, effort and skill
Till Wisconsin’s Walker was forced to kill
Some public unions’ collective bargaining power

Though endangered by recall, his opposition did cower
Barry O was not seen, his reelection campaign
More important to him in maintaining his reign
Than responding to Walker with replies and retorts
He distanced himself from the local cohorts
Of Liberals and Democrats who each loudly decries
The end of democracy with boldness and lies

Calling their fellow citizens “duped”
For defending a governor who they say has stooped
By proposing modest increases to deductions for health
And retirement funds collected for wealth
Guaranteed to these workers for the rest of their lives, despite
Private sector workers who must constantly fight
To save enough to retire in comfort and safety

But these thoughts do occur to me lately
That my peers, though their plight may seem trivial
Do not deserve such hatred or vitriol
From those in the half that do not pay
Federal tax on income but continue to say
That the rich should be soaked for more every year
And despite food stamps for lobster and beer
For those above 250, it’s abundantly clear
Their property should not be held dear
It’s to be redistributed, quid pro quo
To those who’ll continue to vote for BO

But I digress and return to the topic at hand
And describe those whose description was planned
The gentlemen who occasionally observe
The activities of government and sincerely deserve
The salute and the toast of their unnamed peers

These gentlemen who revere those in the years
Of the greatest generation, who so selflessly gave
Everything held dear, and are truly the brave
And the free sung of in the Star Spangled Banner

And I submit to you in the humblest manner
This poem whose muse was poured from a bottle
Of the finest of ales, but I hope you won’t coddle
My pride in my prose on the auspicious occasion
Of my immersion in this besotted recreation