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President Obama gave his State of the Union address recently and brought up his typical talking points. Here are just a couple of topics that stood out.

Tax Reform

Before the State of the Union address, GOP candidate Mitt Romney released his tax returns showing a 14% tax rate. While most people realize that this rate is on his investment returns too many, including President Obama, think this too little. In fact, Obama uses the example of Warren Buffet and his secretary to claim that rich people pay too little in taxes. But let’s take a step back and analyze this.

Many people, like Romney and Buffet, invested money into the economy years ago, and continue to do so. The money they earned and used to invest was originally taxed as the usual income tax rate (what the average American pays). But because their numerous investments have yielded high returns, they have become rich. These returns apply to a completely different kind of tax rules because they are called capital gains. The capital gains tax is around 15% and the reason for that is to incentivize people to invest and keep the economy going. Without investments, the economy would grind to a halt.

So Romney and many other investors out there are reaping the benefits of their investment returns and are paying “their fair share,” as Obama would put it. The real problem is with spending. While some federal aid is important to many middle class Americans, there are government-funded programs out there that have become a black hole for money. Instead of destroying the economy by increasing the capital gains tax, Obama needs to focus on cutting back spending on programs that aren’t helping anybody.

Education

Also during the State of the Union address, President Obama urged states to require students to finish high school, essentially banning them from dropping out. While this may seem like a great idea, there really is no way to enforce that requirement in the law. For example, if a kid were to drop out, would the state send them to jail? Fine them? Community service? Escort them to class with a cop? Yes, it would be great to keep our kids in school, but there is virtually no way to do this, not to mention it is against the constitution.

According to the constitution, everyone has the right to life, liberty, and happiness. States should require students to stay in school if they decide they are happier by dropping out. Though it doesn’t make much sense in the long run to drop out of school, each person has the agency and the right to choose to do so. Taking away that agency is against what our founding fathers fought for so many years ago.

Where would we draw the line? If we feel it is necessary to ban kids from dropping out of school, why not force them to go to college and get a job after they graduate? In fact, the government could even decide which job is appropriate for each person to better grow the economy. Oh wait, that’s what China does.

Conclusion

While Obama does deserve credit for proposing salary tax cuts and budget cuts, there are still some things that need to be changed if he wants to stay in the White House four more years. The Congress does carry quite a bit of the blame for the damaged economy and jobless rate, but President Obama needs to take some responsibility and try something new.