imagesWhen the president addresses the nation during the annual State of Union address this month he will almost certainly address what has been his perpetual rallying cry; income inequality!

Last month, at an event hosted by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank the president revived income inequality as a challenge of our time.  The president stated that increasing the minimum wage, better education, and continued implementation of health care would help alleviate this deficiency in income.

Unfortunately, the real problem with income inequality is rooted in the failed polices of Washington by both political parties. Republican and Democrats are interested only in maintaining the status quo and not addressing the fundamental problems of income inequality.

Tax reform would be the first place to begin, by overhauling the massive 70,000-plus-page Tax Code, which had not been revised since President Reagan and then Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill crafted a bi-partisan deal in 1986.

The U.S. tax code is rife with loopholes and exceptions that make little sense, leaving major corporations paying little or no taxes. For example, Facebook, made over $1 Billion in profits in 2012, but paid nothing in federal and state taxes and received $429 million in tax refunds.

Tax reform would be a great way to end income inequality!

Republicans champion tax reform but were unable to summon the political courage to begin the laborious and politically painful act of overhauling the tax code.

President Obama routinely calls for reforming the tax code but always first with the populist view of raising taxes on the wealthiest of Americans, which plays to his base of his party.

The President has to understand, he has been president for over five years now and his only rhetorical argument is for more government spending, which hasn’t worked.

Wall Street may be doing well but not Main Street.  The Stock Market has recovered from the financial collapse of 2008-09, but maybe because of an infusion of over a trillion dollars a year by the Federal Reserve in its Quantitative Easing bond buyback program has something to do with it.

After five years and adding $7 trillion dollars more to the federal debt, we now have record numbers of Americans in poverty, more on some type of federal government assistance, more on disability, and fewer Americans working then anytime since the late 70’s.  Something isn’t working!

I agree with the president that better education would increase the skill set for those seeking better paying jobs, unfortunately a college education is being priced out for many middle class Americans.

Republicans and Democrats failed to ask tough questions last February of President Obama’s nominee to lead the Treasury Department.  Jack Lew received $685,000 severance payment from New York University, before heading to Citigroup.

While at N.Y.U. he routinely earned $700,000 to $800,000 from the time he was hired in 2001, plus received other inflated compensation while employed.  This sort of practice routinely goes on across the county, including my former state of California.

Former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano was hired in July 2013 as the 20th president of the University of California educational system.

As president of the UC system she will receive a base salary of $570,000, an auto allowance of $8,916, plus a one-time relocation fee of $142,000.  Currently we have a trillion dollar student loan catastrophe, with students graduating on average of $25-$30,000 in student loan debt with minimal employment prospects.

This may be a drop in the bucket in educational funding, but we have seen vast increase in university administration costs, all placed on the backs of students to secure even more student loan debt.  Has anyone asked why college tuition rises far faster then inflation?

Does anyone wonder why we have income inequality in this country!

Both political parties are more concerned with how each crisis plays to their political base then any real solution to fixing what ails the American economy.

Try being a small business owner in which you are faced with a byzantine tax code, a regulatory burden that stifles any economic growth, as we now have the lowest rate of start-up businesses being established.  Dodd-Frank Financial Overhaul Reform of 2010 has stifled small businesses with its byzantine mixer of regulations, with most yet to be written.

The Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable!  Has anyone calculated all the exemptions, waivers and delays and its impact on the federal debt?  This year, when the full magnitude hits small businesses, you will see more people lose coverage, forced onto the federal exchanges, coupled with the lack of employment hiring or forcing people into part-time work.

Last year alone over 75% of all jobs created were part-time, and the trend will accelerate with the continued uncertainty of ObamaCare.

The president has also perpetuated the greatest transfer of wealth from those least able to afford it; the young and healthy to pay for health care.  This is hardly a way to reverse income inequality.

Its time for Washington to quit worrying about what’s good for the Republican and Democratic Party and start looking at what’s best for America!