--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Simply looking at the status quo and…" description: "\"Simply looking at the status quo and suggesting that the tax code is sacrosanct and can never change, and that decisions made in the '80s and '90s can ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/jeff-fortenberry-11071_absurd_simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-sug_139714.jpg" --- # Simply looking at the status quo and suggesting that the… ![“Simply looking at the status quo and suggesting that the tax code is sacrosanct and can never change, and that decisions made in the '80s and '90s can never change, is absurd.” quote by Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/jeff-fortenberry-11071_absurd_simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-sug_139714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/jeff-fortenberry-11071_absurd_simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-sug_139714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/jeff-fortenberry-11071_absurd_simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-sug_139714.jpg) > “Simply looking at the status quo and suggesting that the tax code is sacrosanct and can never change, and that decisions made in the '80s and '90s can never change, is absurd.” [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tax policy is dynamic; clinging to outdated rules ignores necessary reform. **In simple terms:** Tax laws change; they shouldn’t be seen as unchangeable. Key Takeaway Advocate for sensible tax updates. Themes policy change economics Mood critical engaged Type political inspirational When to use this quote - government budgeting - public advocacy Key Concepts tax reform legislative inertia Questions to Reflect On - What tax reforms would benefit you? - How can citizens influence tax policy? A Different Perspective Resistance to change can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Status quo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/status-quo/) [Tax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tax/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) ## Related quotes > [You can't use the tax code as a penal system because you don't like what a country is doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-layfield/you-can-t-use-the-tax-code-as-a-penal-system-because-you-don-t-like/) [John Layfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-layfield/) > [We have a tax code whose complications and levels of unfairness and levels of choosing people to give tax breaks to and choosing people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-diller/we-have-a-tax-code-whose-complications-and-levels-of-unfairness-and/) [Barry Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-diller/) > [Our tax code isn't perfect. Far from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-allred/our-tax-code-isn-t-perfect-far-from-it/) [Colin Allred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-allred/) > [We need a simpler, fairer tax code that protects taxpayers. Not special interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brady/we-need-a-simpler-fairer-tax-code-that-protects-taxpayers-not-special/) [Kevin Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brady/) > [North Carolina needs to revamp the tax code completely. We have some of the highest tax rates, like the corporate tax rate, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rouzer/north-carolina-needs-to-revamp-the-tax-code-completely-we-have-some/) David Rouzer > [We've got a lot of work to do: not only on education, but on the economy, on our tax code, and on reducing our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/we-ve-got-a-lot-of-work-to-do-not-only-on-education-but-on-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Lord knows I'm all for lowering rates and simplifying the tax code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/lord-knows-i-m-all-for-lowering-rates-and-simplifying-the-tax-code/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [We shouldn't be debating whether to deal with the current code by allowing it to be extended or not. We should have a president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-portman/we-shouldn-t-be-debating-whether-to-deal-with-the-current-code-by/) [Rob Portman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-portman/) > [We need to continue to make the Missouri tax code simple and fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-parson/we-need-to-continue-to-make-the-missouri-tax-code-simple-and-fair/) [Mike Parson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-parson/) > [The media's apoplectic reaction to 2018 tax refunds displays a fundamental misunderstanding of the U.S. tax code and the very notion of what a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayleigh-mcenany/the-media-s-apoplectic-reaction-to-2018-tax-refunds-displays-a/) [Kayleigh McEnany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayleigh-mcenany/) > [The important thing about tax reform is you make the tax code less complicated, easier for people to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-norquist/the-important-thing-about-tax-reform-is-you-make-the-tax-code-less/) [Grover Norquist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-norquist/) > [The tax code is very inefficient. Both the personal tax code and the corporate tax code. By closing loopholes and lowering rates, you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/the-tax-code-is-very-inefficient-both-the-personal-tax-code-and-the/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [We all want a simpler code, but tax reform is about much more. It is about ensuring that everyone pays their fair share. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/we-all-want-a-simpler-code-but-tax-reform-is-about-much-more-it-is/) [Charles B. Rangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-b-rangel/) > [The whole tax code should be looked at, all the way from farm subsidies to carried interest to - to corporate loopholes, because we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-pagliuca/the-whole-tax-code-should-be-looked-at-all-the-way-from-farm/) [Stephen Pagliuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-pagliuca/) > [I think a flat tax has merit. Anything would be better than the current tax code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beckel/i-think-a-flat-tax-has-merit-anything-would-be-better-than-the/) [Bob Beckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beckel/) ## More by Jeff Fortenberry > [Considering community support and cost-benefit analysis, I have supported earmarks for projects of high public purpose involving such areas as higher education, alternative energy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/considering-community-support-and-cost-benefit-analysis-i-have/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [You cannot deny reality: that ISIS is systematically attempting to exterminate Christianity, to exterminate the Yazidi community, to exterminate other religious minorities in vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/you-cannot-deny-reality-that-isis-is-systematically-attempting-to/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [Respect and a gentlemanly character - those are marks of a Nebraskan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/respect-and-a-gentlemanly-character-those-are-marks-of-a-nebraskan/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [No one should have to live in fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/no-one-should-have-to-live-in-fear/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [Some states like Nebraska have thus far responsibly managed their budgets, even in tough times, and I could not ask Nebraskans to pay for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/some-states-like-nebraska-have-thus-far-responsibly-managed-their/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [My responsibility is to make judgments about hard, complex issues that I believe to be right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/my-responsibility-is-to-make-judgments-about-hard-complex-issues-that/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [If it comes out of Congress, I think it has traction in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/if-it-comes-out-of-congress-i-think-it-has-traction-in-america/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [That sacred space of conscience where you can exercise your rights in terms of religious freedom and deeply-held, reasonable beliefs is the core of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/that-sacred-space-of-conscience-where-you-can-exercise-your-rights-in/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [I used to be on the Lincoln City Council. You learn that there's never enough money for all of the police officers and fire-fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/i-used-to-be-on-the-lincoln-city-council-you-learn-that-there-s-never/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [People need to make their voices heard in an orderly fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/people-need-to-make-their-voices-heard-in-an-orderly-fashion/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [I would like to see Donald Trump lay out specifics on an economic agenda that are realistic, that are small-business focused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/i-would-like-to-see-donald-trump-lay-out-specifics-on-an-economic/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [Donald Trump has not yet earned my vote. And I'm not simply going to say 'never,' because I do not want to empower Hillary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/donald-trump-has-not-yet-earned-my-vote-and-i-m-not-simply-going-to/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [For Nebraska and for America, I will continue my commitment to our national security, economic security, and family security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/for-nebraska-and-for-america-i-will-continue-my-commitment-to-our/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [The promise of peace seems very far away, but you keep working steadily with good and uplifting attitudes, and that's sometimes tough in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/the-promise-of-peace-seems-very-far-away-but-you-keep-working/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) > [When you're just focused on nutrition and hunger, that's a harder, harder lift in isolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/when-you-re-just-focused-on-nutrition-and-hunger-that-s-a-harder/) [Jeff Fortenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) [Explore all 62 Jeff Fortenberry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Simply looking at the status quo and suggesting that the tax code is sacrosanct and can never change, and that decisions made in the '80s and '90s can never change, is absurd.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeff Fortenberry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-suggesting-that-the-tax-code-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-suggesting-that-the-tax-code-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/jeff-fortenberry-11071_absurd_simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-sug_139714.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/jeff-fortenberry-11071_absurd_simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-sug_139714.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/407/jeff-fortenberry-11071_absurd_simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-sug_139714.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Simply looking at the status quo and suggesting that the tax code is sacrosanct and can never change, and…” — Jeff Fortenberry", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeff Fortenberry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-fortenberry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Simply looking at the status quo...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-suggesting-that-the-tax-code-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-fortenberry/simply-looking-at-the-status-quo-and-suggesting-that-the-tax-code-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```