TightWind is written by Kyle Baxter. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

When a plumber asked Obama if his tax plan would increase his taxes, Obama’s response was that he believes that “when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Noticing a candidate’s subtleties, such as word choice and body language, can be just as important as considering their policy positions. Here, though, Obama eliminates any need for analyzing minutia. In this case, Obama makes his beliefs quite clear. “Spreading the wealth around” requires something that isn’t so nice — the forcible taking of wealth from individuals. He doesn’t think individuals, on the whole, deserve what they’ve earned or received through voluntary means.

He’s made this clear throughout the debates, too, although much more subtly. When criticizing McCain’s support for cutting the corporate tax rate, Obama has said McCain wants the government to “give” billions more back to corporations.

To “give” something to another party, the first has to own it. I cannot give your car to my friend, because I don’t own your car. In making those comments, Obama is assuming that government owns that income.

It doesn’t. A tax cut isn’t giving anything. It is reducing the amount of wealth taken from an individual or organization.

Perhaps you can attribute it to sloppy speech, but combined with his latest comment, negligence appears unlikely. These are indicators that he believes government has a right to an individual or company’s income, and that is something I cannot morally support.