You might have read this story on Internet:

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan."

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade, so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were average, and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset, and the students who studied little were very happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little, had studied even less, and the ones who studied hard, decided they wanted a free ride too, so they studied very little. The second test average was a D. No one was happy.

When the third test rolled around, the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings, and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

It could not be any simpler than that.

If somebody is unable to understand this explanation, I have serious doubts about their ability to even function in our society, much less run our country.

As the late Adrian Rogers said, "You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it ... "

Let's take another example. Suppose your neighbor came to you and needed your money to help someone they knew who was "less fortunate." They continued to come back every year around April 15, and continued to take your money. After four years, they moved and did not pay a dime back to you. After all, they were helping the "less fortunate."

Isn't this exactly what's happening in our United States today? And exactly who are the "less fortunate" and who makes the decision on exactly who is "less fortunate?" Are the "less fortunate" people who have decided to drink in excess or do drugs? Or possibly, it's someone who doesn't have a job, let alone a husband, and takes fertility pills so she can have eight babies. Surely, we are responsible for paying her bills. Maybe it's someone who is not motivated enough to work, but has a family to support? Undoubtedly, this is our problem.

Are they part of the "less fortunate?" Yes, they are, but that was their choice. Taking drugs, dropping out of high school, or drinking or eating too much, having a family without the motivation to work, are all choices. But when they make the choices, and are labeled "less fortunate," that becomes our problem, because our government says that we should help pay for the choices that they made. And unfortunately, it appears as if about 50 percent of our population is among the "less fortunate."

But we can't blame them. This idea that the government owes them has been passed down from generation to generation. Some of them simply don't know any better. There might be the thought that people are prejudiced against blacks, or Hispanics, or poor white trash. Quite frankly, I think people are prejudiced mostly against people that want something for nothing. Why? The reason is because it's coming out of our pockets. And our government is saying this is OK.

Most people don't mind paying taxes for roads, bridges, libraries, law enforcement, etc., because these are things that benefit us all. But paying for people to sit on their duffs and collect a government check each month, because they are the "less fortunate" while we work each day, is preposterous. How about a better screening process, and a proper definition for the term "less fortunate?" Someone who has fought for our country and lost his legs; a 97-year-old who can't see, hear or care for themselves; a spouse who has lost a husband and has small children to care for. This was not their choice. A person 65 or older that's paid into the system for 40 years. They deserve our help.

And now the government wants to use this same philosophy with health care. So high school dropouts and drug addicts, the "less fortunate" are controlling the smart people we elected to guide our country. How many companies would you do business with that have a trillion dollar deficit? How much credibility would you have if you've done nothing but failed financially? And ladies and gentleman, that is our country's leadership. We are in financial disaster, and they want to make it worse. And who pays for it? We do.

Several weeks ago, a friend of mine went through a toll booth that, last year, cost him $1.25. This time it was $3. His choices were to pay the fee, argue with the clerk or run through the toll booth. Perhaps if we, as U.S. citizens, would all just run through the toll booth, things would change. Probably poor advice, but the credible, responsible, hard working people who continue to pay into our system seem to be outnumbered by the ones who want it handed to them. Will we all eventually flunk the course? Scary thought!

* Next month: What are your expectations in retirement?

Tim Schumacher represents Strategic Financial Partners in Hays. tschumacher@htk.com