Citing Thomas Sowell

Oct. 17, 2012
Right now, the Obama administration wants to take away money by fining ...

Thomas Sowell is without a doubt one of the great economists of our country. He explains things so simply. “I have never understood,” he wrote,” why it is ‘greed’ to want to keep the money you’ve earned, but not greed to want to take away the money somebody else has earned.”

Right now, the Obama administration wants to take away money by fining — you can call it a user tax if you wish, but I call it a fine — every flight of a corporate jet. Obama has used Air Force One freely. Obviously, he likes it. No doubt he could explain that it is necessary to help him run the country.

So, why can’t he appreciate the fact that corporate jets help run corporations? Is it possible that he doesn’t believe the CEO of General Motors or General Electric is important enough to rate a jet? Hey — those companies make a profit. Doesn’t that prove they’re doing a good job?

As I understand it, one of the first business aircraft was a single-engine airplane. The IRS said it wasn’t a deductible expense. The owner went up against the IRS and won. The judge said — basically — “Hey, you told me the man’s business has made millions. He thinks the airplane helps the business. Who am I to tell him how to run his company?"

 Wish someone would ‘splain that to Obama.