CNN has an interesting story of an immigrant that came to this country from the oppressive socialist nation in which he was born, worked hard to attain the American dream, became wealthy, and dearly wishes for his fellow Americans to avoid the pitfalls of socialism. But instead of celebrating this man’s great success, CNN slams him as “Rich, Worried and Buying Ad Time.”
Thomas Peterffy was born under Soviet oppression in Budapest in 1944. At 21 years of age, Peterffy left his native country and came to America to try and make his way in life.
“As a young boy, I was fantasizing about one day going to America, making a success of myself. The American Dream,” Peterffy told CNN.
He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in this land of opportunity. In fact, Peterffy succeeded far beyond what he ever could have achieved in the communist country of his birth. Should he have stayed in that oppressed land, he could never have become the billionaire he became in the U.S.
Now, he’s truly is “worried,” as CNN noted. Peterffy is worried that the U.S. has so taken its freedoms and liberties for granted that the country is sliding toward becoming a socialist nation. And this is something he most certainly wants to warn his fellow citizens against.
To warn America against the perils of socialism, Mr. Peterffy is buying TV ad time in key states to tell us all that this is the wrong economic path to tread.
“America’s wealth comes from the efforts of people striving for success. Take away their incentive with badmouthing success and you take away the wealth that helps us take care of the needy,” he says in his TV commercial.
Peterffy, now worth $4.6 billion according to Forbes, says he’s paid $1.9 billion in taxes over his lifetime thus far and he’ll be darned if he’ll be told he isn’t paying his fair share.
Thomas Peterffy is exactly the sort of immigrant this country should be celebrating — a man that came here with nothing and rose to become a leader and jobs maker.
Yet, instead of celebrating this man as a successful immigrant, CNN just highlights his being “rich.” As if that is something to scold him for. Why, for instance, didn’t CNN headline its story something like “Successful Immigrant Warns America”?
As it happens, Peterffy is right to be worried. But it isn’t just an out of control government that he should worry about. This sort of bias in the Old Media establishment is helping drive this country toward the evils of socialism. The media is as much an enemy as big government, nanny state thinking is. Peterffy has more to worry about than he thinks.
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