On your own?
Obama’s speech last week in Roanoke is a great example of what is wrong with the Obama Presidency. First and foremost, while he campaigned as someone who would raise the level of debate and unite the country, he has governed and now runs a campaign based on dividing the country into groups and then pitting them against each other. In this case it was wealthy business owners, who are keeping too much of the money they make, and who therefore should “give something back.”
I will leave it to others to debate whether these remarks stem from ignorance or dishonesty, but either way they are hard to square with reality, and call into question Obama’s claim to deserve a second term. The first problem is with Obama’s claims that the wealthy should “give something back.” Note that Obama did not say that they should give more back, but something back. The rhetoric is designed to make it seem as if they are not giving anything and the ever reasonable Obama is just asking that they at least given “something back.”
But the reality is that “wealthy, successful Americans” already do give something back. In fact, according to data from the IRS, those in the highest income brackets pay by far the most in income taxes and more than the share of income that they earned. In 2009, those with taxable incomes over $200,000, the ones Obama claims are not paying their fair share, paid nearly 75% of all personal income taxes, while those making under 50,000 paid just 4%. If you include the income taxes paid by businesses, another favorite target of Obama, the share of taxes paid by those making $50,000 or less drops to only 3.3%.
The other problem with Obama’s statement is that not all businesses are successful, and even those that are often took many years to become so. It is true that growing a business requires other people. If for nothing else, they need customers. Many require suppliers, and as they grow, employees. And they do require an environment and infrastructure that allows them to grow.
But while this is true, there remains a major problem with Obama’s claim. While many people are required, they do not all share the same burden. As an owner, whole or part, in a business, you take on the responsibility of running the business and the risks. When money does not come in, you still have to pay your employees. You still have to pay your taxes and fees to all the various levels of government. You still have to pay your suppliers. In fact everyone else gets paid and only if there is money left, do you get to pay yourself. Many business owners know all too well the feeling of not being able to get paid, because others had to be paid first.
It is important to remember here that not all businesses are large corporations with huge salaries. Most businesses fail and the owners lose all that they had invested in it. But many try again and some succeed.
Obama’s statement shows no understanding of what it takes to actually create a business, of the work and sacrifice, often over a period of years and even decades, that is required. He sees only the successful few and desires their money. He seems to have no idea that just because a business did well this year does it mean they were not struggling last year, or will not be struggling next year. He has no idea that his policies are making it even harder for those who are still struggling.
In one sense Obama’s statement is true in that new businesses often do get help to become successful, but that help is rarely from government. Most often it is from the very individuals that Obama seeks to take even more money from. These are the people in a position to afford the goods and services that these new businesses offer. Reduce their disposable income and you reduce the sales of these businesses. This is why taxes are a net drag on the economy, and why tax increases almost always fail to bring in the revenues that politicians expected and in fact frequently result in a revenue declines rather than increases.
But even for those so wealthy that increased taxes do not affect their spending, increased taxes still hurt businesses. This is because the money has to come from somewhere. The wealthy do not keep their money in a lock box under their bed. They invest it, often in new emerging businesses. So Obama’s increased taxes would further hurt businesses for they would directly reduce the amount of money these investors could spend and/or invest, and it would also reduce any rate of return they could expect.
Thus in the end Obama’s campaign of class warfare not only seeks to pit the wealthy against the rest of America, it is doomed to fail, for by making it harder for small businesses to succeed, he is making it harder for them to grow and hire new employees. It is a plan where everyone loses, except possibly government that would only grow larger. But even that cannot continue much longer unchecked.
