FAIR SHARE
I keep hearing the words Fair Share, and have come to the
conclusion most who use this term have no idea what they are talking about.
For some reason, this term has been used as a political
object, but when you analyze the use of the term the answer is utterly amusing.
If I may be bold enough, here are a few examples.
1. FAIR
to me means: “It is just to ALL parties, equitable and consistent with logic
and being direct and to the point. The key word, “all” speaks volumes.
2. SHARE:
Means to take a part, or, more to the point, participate in a portion of the
whole.
3. A Fair Share would amount to everyone’s participation in
the whole and, therefore, guide to what
an equitable amount would be.
4.
Participation in the whole is unique in theory because that would
suggest everyone would experience a collective collaboration to assist and help
each other.
When my grandfather was a young man, he agreed to rent a
farm that happened to have a house on the property. He had no job or money, so
in lieu of paying rent or buying the property, he agreed to run the farm, sell
the crops and share the earning with the landlord. In short my grandfather
became a sharecropper.
So what is a Fair Share? Children need a fair share with
love, time, teaching, hugging and preparing them for adulthood. This is
expected of parents, so that's a fair share, right?
Where does the experience young workers starting out come
from? How about we create a fair share department to educate those who need to
learn, launch the business doors and welcome new blood in, even those who need
a little more time to develop their skills?
What about the young woman growing up in a man’s world?
Isn't the female work force entitled to their fair share of salaries paid? What
if she’s better than her male counterpart, wouldn’t that make her a candidate
for receiving a larger share of the fair share earnings pool?
Young filmmakers, in a business I love and work intensely to
keep current, have to learn by trial and error almost every new concept we put
on film. Most of us start at the bottom.
At times, we are so far to the right or left we feel as though
we’re standing in the alley searching for the door to the world so we can
enter. The odd part of the film industry is, you work, learn, have co-workers
who give their share of knowledge and therefore you develop, take chances, have
a support team behind you and end up earning your fair share of the standard
normal. The standard expected is unique in the entertainment industry because
you realize what is normal for you and then find a comfort zone of which allows
you to share your knowledge with others.
In the real world, you know, the one we live in daily? We
raise our children to honor and respect others. We tell them to trust, behave,
listen, and love one another. We ask them to share their toys with siblings,
and clothes when outgrown. We learn to share books, rides, and instructions. We
help fellow students to excel, and we love competition. We learn all of this
early on in life, and then we grow up, and nothing is the same. Why? Have you
ever asked yourself why we have to grow up and leave all that fun behind? It’s
because the fair share slowly slips from our fingers.
Evaluating the Fair Share concept, someone is at fault. Whom
do we blame for having to grow up and face reality? Whose fault is it life gets
so complicated? We can blame mom, and dad, or grandpa and grandma, but it’s not
actually their fault. We can blame the bosses of the world, but in reality they
work for someone just like we do. So whom do we blame?
Politicians! It's their fault, isn't it? I mean, they make
the laws and then they break them. They spout the truth one moment, you know,
the reality we want to hear? Then they turn around and do the real truth, what
we don’t want to hear. Regardless of party or alliance, with or without
religious belief, with or without sexual orientation, it has to be their fault.
We’re on an endless road going nowhere, unless, of course, we get hold of what
a Fair Share means and then actually live by it. The politicians, who, by the
way, work for us, do not honor or participate in the Fair Share mandate. They
exclude themselves from conventional insurance and vote to give themselves a
lifetime retirement fund, and I don’t know anyone who has ever been asked if
that is okay. I think they should participate in the fair share program. Right
now we have a bunch of people who like to argue and solve nothing. That’s not
giving us a Fair Share of running the government we hired them to do.
We need to create a Fair Share that will benefit All of us,
not just a few. It doesn’t take a financial genius to figure out if everyone
paid something on a sliding scale, it would trigger an enormous amount of money
that currently doesn’t exist.
I love the country I live in and have never complained when
tax time comes, and I must pay my share in taxes. That’s not to say I haven’t
used deductions, but there always seems to be an number I owe at the end of the
day. I believe we all owe our country something. We owe because life here is
exceptional and therefore I came up with a creative idea of what a Fair Share
should be.
First, every taxpayer should pay something? Not maybe, but a
minimal amount and let’s just call it an trade for the privilege of living in
the country. What if the country was a large farm and like my grandpa, all of
us were the farmers? What if we paid a fee to maintain the country, the freedom
to travel and experience our daily lives? Wouldn’t that amount to a Fair Share?
I know quite a few wealthy people. Some pay taxes and some
have never paid a dime. The funny part of saying that is, I know many others
who aren’t wealthy but do the same thing in paying no taxes. These people, all
of them collectively who pay nothing, owe their Fair Share.
Remember, fair means all, share is to provide or pay a
portion. At the end of each year, every single adult should pay something,
right? I know there is an argument that
slides up the ladder of logic, and I can hear them screaming that some can’t afford
to pay a dime. I don’t agree with that either. I believe in my heart everyone
should and can pay something for the privilege of living here.
So you start this so called Fair Share Mandate, why can’t we
start with say Three Dollars ($3) a month as a first tear on the sliding
schedule. Everyone can afford $3. I mean that's only $36. a year for an
unbelievable privilege. Doesn't that sound, right? From there, a sliding scale
would be created, $5 for some, $10 a month for others and so on. Every dollar levied
and collected would be based on gross income solely, before any deductions
whatsoever. The more you earn, the more you pay up to a point. This would go
for corporations to, and all companies with offices or headquarters in this
country. A set minimum would equal a fair share from everyone regardless of how
much they make.
This would have nothing to do with deductions or other
safety nets we all have and enjoy, this has to do with the crops (or freedom if
you will) that we enjoy throughout the year and the rent that’s required for
using them. It is for the privilege of living here, but as it is most
don't pay for it. Oh wait, yes the actual taxpayers who pay taxes do pay for
our privileges, all of us. Sadly those who pay nothing end up with the same gifts
as those who pay for them. That’s not a fair share.
The wealthy can’t pay for everything. That’s not fair
either. Those who aren’t wealthy, but have the desire to become wealthy, need
to keep their dream alive, but like anything else in life that privilege should
have a minimum fee so the Fair Share would be paid by everyone.
There are a lot of extremely well educated people who could
figure out the exact numbers, so no one in particular gets hurt. If everyone
paid something the national debt would melt away, and our freedoms improve immensely. If every tax return ended
with this minimum fee, I believe all of us would feel as though we did our
part, however, small it might be.
I hear politicians from all parties talking about how they
speak for everyone, but that’s not true. They speak for a handful, and that’s a
long way from all of us and it’s not just.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to pay higher taxes either,
but there is a reason we all need to participate in the wellbeing of our
country. Every country needs this wisdom. What’s the old saying, “There are no
free rides.” Well guess again. Last time I read a study, it stated over half of
everyone living here paid nothing and to me that’s a free ride.
We will end up with a flat tax eventually, but that is
probably miles down the road and around the bend. Wouldn’t it make sense to set
up a minimum tax, so all paid their fair share? Come on, $3 bucks a month is
affordable, it is. It’s one less pack of cigarettes or giving up a coke or a
few cups of coffee. It’s doable.
Until the day comes when we actually elect people who can
think for all of us by doing the right thing for all of us, something needs to
be done now. When I look at the list of stupid things the government spends our
money on, it makes me sick. Shame on us for allowing someone to do this and say
it’s on our behalf. Shame on us for not speaking up and demanding the fair
share should be for everyone.
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