I think that you are taking this too literally. There is a certain point where people who take the initiative to start a company (and I am taking a guess that you are not one of those people) need to be recognized as the heroes that they are rather then just a means to a taxing meal ticket. Instead of praising these people for providing jobs and making the economy better, they are being told that they aren't giving enough. What exactly is enough in your opinion? When you levy higher taxes on profitable small businesses during a recession, the consequences could be dire for said small company. The government will tax them right out of business in order to make sure that the pregnant woman on welfare is able to keep collecting her check (this is metaphore by the way). Why would anyone who went into business for themselves, who are more than likely capitalists, want to see their company reduced to a socialist handout program. Why is it this business owners responsibility to make sure that everyone he employees is always happy, well fed and clothed for the rest of their lives, when the government is threatening to take away his means to secure his own future. It is not a matter of this business man not paying his dues, or thinking he "owe's no one", it is the socialization of the American economy, it is the concept of "big government" that believes it is their job to make everybody equal, regardless of how hard they have worked or what they have sacrificed.