Paul "Enron" Krugman, NY Times cry baby, does his part to fuel class envy and warfare. It would seem that Krugman has his panties in a bind over the statistical trend of rich parents having rich offspring and poor parents having poor offspring. Unfortunately, his piece offers little substance and fact and mostly just whines on and on about how the poor kids are left behind, while rich kids step on their heads while clambering up the ladder of success.

Krugman thinks that the evil rich are paving the way down easy street for their kids. They offer up lucrative jobs to their offspring, which of course require no amount of hard work what-so-ever. Meanwhile, poor kids are stuck in the ghetto working at the local McDonalds. Even those that work hard and take advantage of every single opportunity have no chance for success because their parents aren't rich enough. We are taught that the American dream is dictated by hard work and ambition, not who your father was, but to Krugman, that is all a bunch of crap.

What completely escapes Krugman is that upbringing has everything to do with success. Rich people typically continue to do things that make them rich, while poor people continue to do the things that make them poor. If parents think that it's ok to buy lottery tickets, cigarettes and beer while their un-open, unpaid, bills lay there on the coffee table, chances are the children are going to learn that lesson as well. On the other hand, when parents exude personal and fiscal responsibility, chances are their kids will follow in kind.

There is a reason why multi-million dollar lottery winners are often back to being dirt poor in less than 10 years.

It is those types of behavioral lessons that foster success. The statistical relationship to wealth is caused only by the fact that parents are not just teaching those lessons, but exhibiting them as well. That is exactly why people who start out with very little wealth are still able to be successful.

This topic is very personal to me, because my parents, while not wealthy by any stretch, taught me that hard work and determination pay off. My family was poor and came from a poor background. Still, by exhibiting a good work ethic, and good decision making, they managed to carve out a decent middle class living. By demonstrating good fiscal behavior, they taught both me and my sister the lessons needed for us to do the same.

Krugman, however, rather than stress the importance of good financial behavior and personal responsibility insists that income redistribution is necessary. That is, he would rather advocate the seizing of wealth with the threat of lethal force, than teach children the lessons of hard work and personal financial management.

There is a lot to be said for the old adage, "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime." Unfortunately, the lesson is lost on socialists like Krugman, who think other people's money is the solution to every problem.