Enlightened self-interest. A concept lost on and undermined through ignorance by commencement speakers across the fruited plain.
Arthur Laffer, he of The Curve, preaching the truth to Mercer University grads:
"Pursuing your dream of prospering will benefit everyone . . . When I graduated from Yale University, we had a serious commencement speaker not like the one you are stuck with today. The commencement speaker was President John F. Kennedy. And the point I'm making today is the same point he made all those years ago. He said, "No American is ever made better off by pulling a fellow American down, and all of us are made better off whenever any one of us is made better off." He concluded by using the analogy that "a rising tide raises all boats."
Never forget or be ashamed of the fact that pursuing your own self interest furthers everyone's interest. Without you, the poor would be poorer.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
What... Nothing about sacrifice, community service or saving the planet?
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3 comments:
Kenneth Lay loves that mindset.
And I'm sure the FBI will keep that in mind while they are busy rounding up the various faux mortgage schemers for their much-deserved appointments in the pokey...
- Mongo Differentiating Between Rising Tides and Rising Greed
Kenneth Lay broke the law.
I can only assume that what Laffer left unsaid was because he figured these grads had that part figured out.
... were he at a Cal-State school, though....
And, just for kicks, let them eat cake...
- Mongo Antoinette
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