Perhaps I don't watch enough youtube at work, but I just don't get Barack Obama. In one segment of a speech, he's talking of taxing those who have enough/too much/are rich/or [insert adjective to describe someone who's done well enough to earn a decent living for themselves], and in another segment wants America to be a "place where trying is enough to get you ahead".
Did I miss something in the segue here? Why on earth should I be arsed to "try" to "get ahead" if getting ahead means he thinks I ought to be taxed out the wazoo to support the livelihood of everyone else still "behind". And yes, I put "behind" in quotes there as America, to my knowledge, still remains the only country I'm aware of where being in the lower class really just means you have basic cable television and a DVD player on a 30+" inch television instead of the full satellite package with HD and the NFL Season Ticket package - which most "poor" folks will probably buy anyway even if they can't afford it because Americans in general have no financial restraint.
The problem as I see it is two-fold: 1) income taxation, and especially the progressive variety, is a subpar taxing mechanism if "fairness" is what is sought after 2) Americans in general have a mentality that they deserve more than they've earned and that others should pay for their lifestyle and/or mistakes. Obama misses wildly on acknowledging these two things as problems.
My own personal jury is still out on McCain and Barr... but Obama's appeal to populism just makes him look stupid and pandering to me.
Regardless, best case scenario now is that we get Ron Paul as a candidate in '12 :P
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comments:
Careful when criticizing the Messiah. No wonder you have to leave the Bay area! ;-)
Regarding tax "fairness," does Obama not realize that the top 1% of earners pay 40% of all taxes collected already? The top 5% made 153K in 2006. That is good money, but hardly what I'd call rich and deserving of an Obama-facilitated penalty.
The top 50% of earners pay 97% of the taxes. Again, where is there more "fairness" by asking them to pay even more?
Post a Comment