In his latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Love for Labor Lost" (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/opinion/krugman-love-for-labor-lost.html?_r=0), Paul Krugman takes the opportunity presented by Labor Day in the US to smear Congressman Eric Cantor. Krugman writes:
"Consider, for example, how Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, marked Labor Day last year: with a Twitter post declaring 'Today, we celebrate those who have taken a risk, worked hard, built a business and earned their own success.' Yep, he saw Labor Day as an occasion to honor business owners.
. . . .
So, this time around will we be hearing anything from Mr. Cantor and his colleagues suggesting that they actually do respect people who work for a living? Maybe. But the one thing we’ll know for sure is that they don’t mean it."
Hold your horses, Paul. Someone who created his or her own hardware store, restaurant, travel agency, home renovation service, or auto repair shop has not "built a business and earned their own success"? "Business owners" don't work for a living? The overwhelming majority of people who open their own businesses are not Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and they sweat bullets every day and lose sleep every night in an effort to keep their businesses above water.
Having created two small businesses, I know this to be a fact.
And the fear of failure is palpable. Suddenly, you're also responsible for the livelihoods of others. It's not the same as receiving a weekly paycheck from a well-endowed university, or from a newspaper, which might ultimately be forced to file for Chapter 11, unless a certain administration, whose views its editorial staff regularly parrots, comes to its rescue.
Indeed, Eric Cantor paid homage to those who opened their own businesses. This is a reason for Krugman to spew venom?
