Tim Walz is an embarrassment to America

He is a very modern parasite – a man who never seems to have created any wealth in his life

With his genial, folksy manner, and his easy-going demeanour, Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for Vice-President, may well be a bit of a buffoon. Still, at least in his supporters’ estimation, he does have this going for him. He is supposedly untainted by financial assets. Walz has disclosed that he owns no home, individual stocks, bonds or rental properties.
Extraordinarily, some people seem to think that that is a good thing. He won’t be dancing to Wall Street’s tune, it is implied. He won’t be quietly worrying about the impact government decisions might have on his property portfolio. He doesn’t have anything.
In fairness, it certainly draws a sharp dividing line with his Republican opponents. Donald Trump’s financial affairs, to put it kindly, have always been complex, but it seems safe to say that he has a few assets, even if there may well be a lot of debts on the other side of the balance sheet.
And yet, it is still a bizarre claim to make, on two levels. To start with, it isn’t actually true. Walz does disclose a small amount of money in retirement savings accounts. On top of that, like most people in official positions, Walz has built up generous pensions, from his time in the National Guard, from his time as a teacher, as well as for his time in Congress and as Governor of Minnesota, while his wife Gwen will presumably have a pension from her career as a teacher.
Although it might come as a surprise to Walz’s supporters, retirement saving funds invest in stocks, bonds and property: indeed the fact that some on the Left don’t seem to know that (and presumably think pensions just come from the magic money tree) may well explain why nobody trusts the Democrats on the economy. With a combined income of more than $200,000, the Walz’s are hardly poor.
Next, and more importantly, it is a weird thing to boast about. What happened to the America that celebrated the self-made man? And since when was being reliant on the government a sign of virtue? It is hard to imagine Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, or Harry Truman, all of whom came from genuinely humble beginnings, celebrating their lack of assets. They had taken the opportunities America offers its citizens, and were proud of it. On Team Harris, by contrast, fecklessness and irresponsibility are a badge of honour.
That makes Walz the perfect champion of the West’s ruling parasite class. He lives very well, and will do so even more as VP, if he happens to be victorious next week. And yet, his entire career appears to have been spent working for the government, and he can expect to be well looked after by the taxpayer for the rest of his life. He has contributed almost nothing to the productive economy.
That is increasingly true of the entire ruling class on both sides of the Atlantic. They hop from education, to quango, to elected office, and then back into the comforting embrace of a think tank, all without ever having to create any wealth. If they ever dabble in the private sector, it is only through one of the lobbying firms. It is hardly a surprise that they only ever want to increase the size of the state, and make everyone dependent on it. Nor is it a shock that they always want to increase taxes. After all, that is how they have always lived themselves.
In reality, “penniless” Walz is their perfect champion. And yet he is also an embarrassment to the American spirit – and the opinion polls suggest that at least some of the voters have started to notice.