The Same Game With Different Players
Readers suggested a topic on political themes. “It is obvious that Obama’s Presidential campaign is going to have a ‘fair share’ theme this year. So I ask, what is my fair share? Is it 25% for federal taxes? 35%? 40? 50 or more? Should there be no cap on what I pay into FICA? Should I be means tested for Social Security when I hit retirement age and not get what I paid in because I saved all of my hard earned money versus somebody who wasted all of their money on McCrapShacks and Hummer’s and $40k birthday parties for their little princesses? Is that fair?”
“I was a working class kid who didn’t have a pot to piss in who worked his entire life to be successful. Is it fair for me to pay the same tax rate than a trust fund baby who went to Harvard or Yale cause his daddy and granddaddy both went there and he was just hired into the family business after 5 years of partying? Is that fair?”
“And who decides what my fair share is? Those *#@*! in Congress who would steal every last penny from all of us just to get re-elected? Maybe a fair share czar?! I don’t know what the right answer is or that there is a right answer…..”
A reply, “Humans have compassion so we like to frame things as fair. In severe cases of ‘compassion’ + ‘hormones’ we can even fall in love. A trait not shared with other species. Do any of the Republicans strike you as compassionate? When the chips are down who will let compassion influence their decisions? Obama or any of the GOP hopefuls?”
Another said, “I feel your pain, but now you must tattoo this on your brain and take it into your heart. When you figure out how to accept it, you’ll feel a lot better, I promise you. Ready? Here it comes…LIFE IS NOT FAIR.”
Click on Detroit. “A landmark ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals could stop some foreclosures by banks, even if they are late in the process including eviction. The Kim family, of Shelby Township, sued Chase Bank after the bank took over their mortgage that was with Washington Mutual. The Kims purchased the home in 2006 and refinanced with ‘WaMu’ in 2007.”
“According to Chris Christenson, the attorney for the Kim family, Chase did not record its interest with the Register of Deeds. Chase foreclosed on the house, got it from the sheriff’s sale in 2009 for $218,000 and now wants to go after the Kims for $400,000, plus keep the house. ‘They bid $200,000, roughly, on a $600,000 debt. ‘They are reserving the right to chase these folks and take the house,’ he said.”
“The home sits on a private drive on a lake in Shelby Township. Christenson said the Kims want to modify their loan and keep their house. They are still living in it.”
The Independent Florida Alligator. “Vice President Joe Biden visited Florida State University to talk about rising college costs and the various efforts the Obama administration is undertaking to tackle them. During Biden’s visit, a student asked him if increasing government aid and subsidies have been contributing to the increasing tuition costs Biden was speaking about. The vice president’s response was in the affirmative: Government meddling in the funding of students’ college education has led to increased tuition.”
“It’s an inescapable effect of government meddling in the free market. We’ve seen it happen with the housing market.”
“The dream of owning a home is exploited by the government through laws and regulations that are enacted to encourage home ownership among those who desire a home of their own but cannot afford it. Home values rise and the need for financing increases. What happens? The system crashes. Taxpayers are left to carry the costs and the economy suffers. The fact is that the current availability of financial aid should be a cause for concern in that it appears to be the same game with different players.”
“The problem lies in a fundamental misunderstanding of the American dream. Owning a home is not the American dream. Earning a college education is not the American dream. The dream is the pursuit of one’s goals and the pursuit of happiness. Rather than an equal outcome, it means an equal opportunity to rise above one’s background toward a quality of life that one’s ancestors could only dream of.”
“That’s the dream. You have not failed if you do not own a home. You have not failed if you don’t have a college education. You only fail when you give up on pursuing your dreams.”
