The Fairness Test

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The FairnessThe Fairness

TestTest10 questions you can apply to any10 questions you can apply to anypolitical position.political position.Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved


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An Introduction

Fairness can be subjective but it also appeals to

common sense so it can be tested. We test whethersituations are fair in our everyday lives constantly, yet we

are not applying those tests as often when judging

political positions or actions.

Why is that? Perhaps its because we feel our evaluations

no longer matter that no one is paying is attention - or

perhaps its because politicians do everything they can to

avoid having their positions and actions tested.

In the past, we relied on the media to help perform this

role but year by year they have slowly shifted from

impartial observers to paid advocates.


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Politics is more than a popularity contest it is the

mechanism which defines the nature of our society. Theability to measure the truth and Fairness of political

positions and action is the key towards ensuring that

politics remains honest and accountable to us.


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What is the Fairness Test

This Fairness Test is one of many metrics we will

develop in order to help you decipher the sometimesinane world of political discourse it is designed to

measure whether a specific political position would

be deemed by most people to be Fair or Unfair.

The test is also designed to help you uncover the

motives and implications of any given position or

policy. It can applied to either party and any political

philosophy. The test consists of 10 simple questions.

The main goal of the test is not to shape your

opinion, but rather to give you the tools so that you

can form your own opinion.


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Question 1

Would you vote for it, did you vote for it ?

How often have you run into this scenario a

politician goes into an election with a platform based

mostly on high level rhetoric, gets elected and then

surprises you with their actual policy agenda ?

Would you have voted for them if you had known

what they really had in mind ? If a politician is

deliberately trying to hide or obscure their trueagenda, chances are its unfair. The 1st question you

should ask yourself about any position is would you

have voted for it given the chance?


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Question 2

Who is advocating the position and why?

Sometimes this is clear sometimes it isnt. For

example, it has been common practice for powerful

interests to use front groups to advocate a position

on their behalf this is done to make it look asthough the position has grass roots support.

Knowing who came up with the idea and why they

came up with it can sometimes tells you the wholestory of what that position really represents. Other

times it will be one piece of evidence in a larger

puzzle.


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Question 3

Does it make any sense ?

This may sound a little silly at first, but then again,

this is politics were talking about.

There are many political positions which have littlelogical consistency in them. Worse, there are many

positions which are made so obtuse or complex

that it becomes almost impossible to unravel them.

Any position that has obvious logical flaws or is

designed to confuse you is likely to be unfair.


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Patriotism starts with the knowledge that the United States is the

sum of its people were not just fighting for ideals were

fighting for our own rights and freedoms which those ideals

serve.


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Question 4

Are the promoters respecting the process ?

This is important; people who dont respect

Democracy or our Republican form of government

may believe that bullying and shouting people

down or manipulating the process throughcorruption is ok. It isnt.

People using those types of tactics to promote their

political positions make those positions suspect.Bullys arent known for Fairness.


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Question 5

How much was spent to promote the position ?

There is a law in politics the more it costs to convince

people to support a position the less likely it is that

the position actually benefits those people.

While this isnt the case 100% of time it is often

enough to use it as a test. It opens the door to other

questions such as who has that much money to

spend and why is this thing so darned important tothem?

Whats Fair is usually True. Truth doesnt cost as much

as lies.


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Question 7

Is it a long term cure or a short-term fix?

This may be more an indirect test but often it

reflects the outcome of an excessive amount of

negotiation or deal-making.

Short-term fixes often reflect a reluctance to take a

firm stand and also tends to imply that major parts

of a problem are passed along for others to solve.

That in itself is usually unfair.


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Question 8

Does the position promote the national interests of

the United States?

Youd think this would be obvious to any politician

but todays climate has changed. Youre more likely

to hear the drumbeat of Globalization and the needfor Global competitiveness come ahead of the

needs of ordinary Americans nowadays.

Ultimately though if Americans suffer, the UnitedStates will suffer. As goes the Middle Class so

goes the country. Positions that will weaken the

United States are by definition unfair.


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Question 9

Does the position promote the interests of ordinary

Americans?

America, like any nation is a mix of competing

interests. Usually that competition is balanced but

sometimes it falls out of balance.

Ordinary Americans do not have lots of cash or

powerful lobbies to represent them but they can still be

heard. If a position does not promote your interests

you every right to say so. A position that only promotes

the interests of a handful of people can often be

viewed as unfair unless it is designed specifically to

protect some minority groups rights or freedoms.


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Question 10

Is there any compelling evidence to support the

contentions made within a position ?

In politics, too often we agree with our own side of

the debate without examining what theyre really

saying.

Any political position ought to have at least 3

compelling pieces of actual evidence supporting it

not just 3 rhetorical arguments or talking points.

Any politician who fails to include some evidence in

their presentation of a position is likely advocating

something that is unfair.


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Conclusion

We do not need political pundits to think for us we

do not need politicians to tell us how we should think.

What we need are for political professionals to

present their case to us and allow us to decide for

ourselves. We can do this by applying simple tests towhat they are saying.

The tests may not come out exactly the same for all

of us but one thing is for certain if we take the timeto apply one of these tests to a position we will be

that much closer to making an informed decision

about it.

Documents

The Fairness Test