6 responses to “President Obama & “Fairness” ????”

1. 

   zach potter January 29th, 2012 at 18:18

   I find the idea of Obama’s fairness is not fair in the slightest. Most of the fairness he was referring to in the State of the Union address was by taxing the rich by more. The tax code has been set up to incentivize and promote certain industries and ways of investing. If you create lots jobs or invest in certain ways you are taxed at a lower rate. In this way, employees are encouraged to start businesses in order to get lower tax rates. Changing this tax code to tax everyone equally is actually being unfair to those who for years have done what the government wanted them to do and created lots of jobs and succeeded in business.

2. 

   nick lawrence February 1st, 2012 at 22:59

   Obama’s “fairness” technique (taxing the rich and giving to the poor) is counter productive. Doing that is promoting bad behavior. I think you should give tax breaks to the people who are creating jobs and stimulating the economy that way MORE people WANT to create jobs or stimulate the economy. Think about it, if right off the bat a teacher thought it was unfair to give some students an A and some students a D and she said, “everyones getting a C because thats ‘fair’”…how hard would you work?

3. 

   Jim Smith February 3rd, 2012 at 14:43

   Hank its been a while! I thought you were done with the blog? Glad to see you’re back at it though!

   First, Nick, the amount of money you have to be making to get big tax breaks is massive. If you are making $40k a year and say, “I don’t want to try any harder because if I am making $1 million a year Ill have to pay more in taxes” then you are an idiot and I found the reason you are only making $40k a year! Your grades analogy is also atrocious, but I will roll with it. The way the system is set up now, if you are getting poor “grades” you are offered no help, the govt will even take a high percentage of your grades away from you! But if you are doing well, then you are offered more help and are given higher “grades” even though you did need or earn them!

   Taxes aside, there is a much larger issue with our government (other than the fact that we keep electing the most polarizing people, ensuring NOTHING will ever get done), it is set up in such a way that to seriously influence it, you need money! So, the people with money have set up a system that works to their advantage, and the people without money have to say in the matter. The truly astonishing aspect of this is that they have convinced half the country thinks this is the way it should work!!

   And zach, no one created jobs because the “government wanted them to”, but because it made them money!!

   At any rate, I have to catch a plane. Judging by these two comments hank, you need some dissenting voices! So Ill be back more to keep you honest!

   Jim

4. 

   JR Chaille February 5th, 2012 at 13:19

   Obama’s “fairness” is all about social justice, what we need from our government is equal justice.
   The most illustrative representation is Lady Justice; she’s blind folded, because true justice is blind. This country was built on laws not men.
   To me, fairness would mean charging everyone the same amount to be a US citizen, but since that will never fly, 2nd best fairness would be charging everyone the same percentage rate, on net income. No loop holes, no exemptions, no write offs. You’re blessed enough to live here you can contribute to the sisyphusean task of paying down our debt.
   Also, it’s not fair that our government creates so many dependents. Social welfare is a duty for communities, churches, and individuals. The government is inefficient and ineffectual. Let tax payers keep the money the government wastes. Individuals can donate it to agencies and charities that best represent their ideals and will use the money well. Individuals have a duty to be fair; the government should stick to being lawful.

5. 

   zach potter February 6th, 2012 at 16:10

   Jim, in regards to the statement you responded to of mine. Yes people create jobs to make money. However, Entrepreneurs like Robert Kiyosaki author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad” do look at how the laws incentivize certain industries. In several of his books he talks about how the government gives tax breaks to people who operate gold or silver mines. The business may still be profitable without such tax incentives. The extra money generated from the incentives definitely encourages you to make jobs in industries favored by the tax code. So, you are right that people create jobs for money, but the government still favors certain industries with taxes, meaning they want you to make jobs in those industries.

6. 

   Stephanie Dickerson February 7th, 2012 at 09:05

   Honestly I feel like there is so much wrong with the government I don’t even know where to begin. I would like to know exactley when the “leaders” of this country stopped caring for it and the people who live in it. You have to work hard to have a decent life and to be successful, and if you are able to do that I don’t think it’s “fair” that you get taxed more just because you are more successful than others.