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Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 24th, 2012

Last night I had a conversation with a seller: we were trying to establish ‘the state of the deal’ to figure out solutions for a host of issues in an attempt to make a sale……I made it very clear that unless we outlined all the issues 100% honestly be they good, bad or ugly, there would be no way to formulate strong solutions. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the same were true for our country? For real estate taxes? For Federal income taxes?

Tonight, the president delivers his STATE OF THE UNION speech. He will probably quote the constitution quite a lot in justifying his assessment and plans. Has the Constitution become similar to the Bible, providing a means of selecting the few chapters or verses that serve your cause best while ignoring the other chapters that may contradict you? Will the president address these items that concern me most?

1)   Why do some people pay 15% in federal income taxes and others who earn the same pay double? Doesn’t the Federal government (based on the Constitution) protect us from the vile practice of charging 2 vastly different prices for the same product?

2)   Why do some neighbors in almost identical neighboring buildings pay more real estate taxes than one another: surely the Federal government plays a role in protecting our constitutional right to fair and equal treatment? The States don’t.

3)   Why does the federal government want to raise taxes, when federal government employees owe over $ 1 billion in unpaid taxes?

4)   Why are political and especially presidential campaigns flooded with so much money from corporations that are owed favors after a win?

The vast majority of us would be much better off if there was more honest disclosure in our world. Without honest disclosure, there can be no real, lasting solutions.