Guest Writer Adam Vartanyan-- views on Obama
Adam Vartanyan is a Financial Advisor in Denver, Colorado. He occasionally writes as a guest columnist. Today's views are on the Presidential election about Barack Obama.
Let me pose a question...it has been touted in the media and proclaimed by the Democratic Party that 95% of Americans will receive a reduction for income taxes that they pay under Obama's plan. Fact: 41% of Americans who filed income tax returns in 2006 did not have any tax liability and a good majority received money back over and above what they had withheld over the year. Now, tell me, how in the world 95% of people in America will receive a reduction in the amount they pay in taxes when 41% of them don't pay any income taxes at all?
Maybe this needs to be broken down and simplified for most people. So let's look at an explanation of how our tax system works in the United States. Read the explanation below. I love the Beer analogy.
Our Tax System Explained in Beer!
By: David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics University of Georgia
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. 'Drinks for the ten now cost just $80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink free.
But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.
So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings). The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings). The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings). The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings). The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings). The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free.
But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. 'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10! ''Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I did!
''That's true!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks! ''Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor! 'The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works.
The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.
By: David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. Professor of Economics University of Georgia
People are going to complain all day long. That's the beauty of America--they have that right. They'll complain about how the wealthy are receiving tax breaks while completely forgetting about the fact that they never paid any money in the first place. So please...do not get caught up in the hype. Think through things rationally and logically and I know you'll be able to see through the smoke and mirrors.
I heard Biden on the news say on 9/19/08 that paying taxes is our patriotic duty. What?
On Experience
I absolutely love the new debate of who has more experience, Sarah Palin or Barack Obama. This is the softball of all softballs in my opinion. Let's look at Barack's Experience
I didn't say it...they did. As I watched almost every presentation at the DNC, I was amazed at how many times the speakers attempted to pad Obama's resume by talking about his work as a community organizer. To quote Wikipedia, Community organizing is a process by which people living in proximity to each other, are brought together to act in their common self-interest. Community organizers act as area-wide coordinators of programs for different agencies in an attempt to meet community needs for various services". This is the ultimate, "you have got to be kidding me". My Fraternity at CSU fulfills this definition year in and year out in Northern Colorado. It is no wonder why the RNC attacked the "community organizer" bit. Don't get me wrong; I think organizing communities around a cause you are passionate about is great. MLK worked as a community organizer along with Gandhi, Susan B. Anthony and many others, but when did that become a stepping-stone to the highest office in the land? If I were a campaign operative for the Obama campaign, I would be forced to talk about his "community organizing" experience because there is not much else to elaborate about. While a State Senator in Illinois, Over 130 times, this person voted "present" on major legislation. That's right...present! Don't be fooled, the vote "present" serves only one purpose, preserving a clean record. That is not leadership. What about Barack as a US Senator? Well, he got a full two years in before he announced his candidacy for leader of the free world. Can anyone tell me what major legislation he passed in those two years that qualifies him for commander in chief? Further, Obama has become so desperate to build his resume that he has resorted to citing his own presidential campaign as an indication of his executive experience.
Oh, I forgot to mention, that while in Chicago, Obama co-found the Woods Fund of Chicago with convicted terrorist Bill Ayers. A point worth noting...he sat on this board working alongside Ayers for over nine years. A far cry from attempting to distance himself from Ayers by saying "I was only 8 years old" when those attacks took place. Further, in 1995 Ayers hosted a "meet the candidate" dinner at his home for Barack and Michelle Obama. Do yourself a favor and research Ayers, who as recent as this month, September 2008, is on record stating that he is unrepentant of his WTC Bombings and wished they did more!
His background and experience is worth questioning...But hey, he can read Teleprompters pretty well, and he also looks powerful standing between Styrofoam Greek columns. Let's make him president!
When you begin to compare Obama to McCain on experience it is clear Obama is wet behind the ears. That is why the left will shift the comparison to Obama vs. Palin, attempting to frame Palin as more inexperienced than Barack...right? Wrong.
How about a comparison...
She has been a Mayor, he hasn't.
She has been a Governor, he hasn't
She has been in charge of a National Guard, he hasn't
She has stood up against her own party and reached across the isle, he hasn't.
She has made tough decisions...EXECUTIVE decisions, he votes "present".
She has run a business, he hasn't
She has an approval rating of 80% and is the most popular Governor in America.
Be careful how you diminish Palin's experience as Mayor. I know first hand the responsibility and executive decisions that fall to a Mayor and it should not to be taken lightly. In addition, she has run a small business. I know here in Colorado 80% of the businesses in the state are considered small business. The fact that she knows and understands the small business owner through her first hand EXPERIENCE is comforting to me.
I'm tired of the Harvard education argument. We all know that there is no substitute for experience. The choice is between two candidates, one who has learned in a classroom and the other who has been tried and tested on the battlefield and as a public servant decade after decade. I don't know about you, but the choice is clear to me.
On Immigration:
McCain has attempted to pass comprehensive immigration reform. You can reference the McCain-Kennedy bill put forth last year. This bill had pros and cons associated with it, however, it proves McCain can get things done and can reach across the isle to move our country forward. What has Barack done, other than encouraging drivers' licenses be given to illegal immigrants? By the way, Biden voted against granting illegal immigrants drivers' licenses in 2007 along with supporting the Bush Plan to build a fence and grant a path to citizenship. I'll hand it to Biden; at least he has a record of making decisions on challenging issues.
On Change:
Both candidates are proposing change, and there is no doubt that change is needed. Keep in mind change is a path, not a destination. So are we talking about change for the better or change for the worse? In a campaign filled with words on both sides, we must look to actions and past decisions. When I look into the past of McCain and Palin, I see a culture and history going against the grain and changing things for the better. What has Barack changed? Show me actions/decisions in his past where he has reformed policy. Now the left will push the fact that McCain voted 95% of the time with Bush. There is one main problem with that argument...are we to assume that everything Bush has done is wrong...of course not. Additionally, I challenge you to examine the voting record of Biden and determine what percentage of the time he aligned with Bush. After all, Biden was the chair of the Senate Foreign policy committee where he actively supported the decision to go to war along with the President.
On Foreign Policy:
McCain vs. Obama...Let us think about this for a minute...Come on we all know the answer to that. Obama managed to take a Public Relations tour to Iraq and Europe and we're going to put that in his foreign policy experience column. Ha. Just ask the soldiers that Obama snubbed because they interfered with his PR fiasco. At least we know that Obama would rather communicate to 200,000 screaming Germans or go to the gym to shoot some hoops instead of taking the time to visit with our wounded troops. Men and women, by the way, who are fighting for our freedom, included in which is his freedom to run for president. I can go further, look at Obama's flip flopping on the Russia/Georgia conflict. In addition, his ridiculously changing views on the Israeli Palestinian conflict, which is not pro-Israel. Maybe this has something to do with his relationship to Louis Farrakhan...I'm not sure but I hope not. How about the fact that Barack is willing to meet with the terrorist leaders without pre-conditions--that is odd. With the ever-changing global landscape and move to increased globalization and interconnectedness, I am sure of one thing...The last person I want running around the global community representing America is Barack Obama.
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