"I know we can fix our problems. When there are people in the room who care more about doing the job they were elected to do than they worry about winning reelection, it is possible to work together, achieve principal compromise, and get results for the people who give us these jobs in the first place."
- Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey

It's difficult to fully get into the holiday season when we are bombarded with a constant threat of stepping over the edge of a mystical fiscal cliff.

It's also discouraging and frustrating that we have elected leaders on both sides of the political equation who feel absolutely comfortable in playing a game with everybody's pocketbook.

This battle between the Democrats, Republicans and a president who feels he was elected with some sort of popular mandate seems simple enough.

Democrats want to just raise the taxes on the wealthier among us who make more than $200,000 a year and don't raise the taxes for those who make under $200,000.

If it was only so simple; but, for the sake of argument, let's pretend it is.

The majority of us obviously make less than $200,000 per year, so why should we care whether the select few who do earn that much bear the additional burden of paying more taxes?

Well, we should all care for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that many people who record $200,000 as an income are small business owners. Make no mistake that when their income is affected and threatened, the people who work for them are going to feel the effects as well.

The other reason is because of something that seems to no longer to be a part of the American fabric: principle.

Principle says that all people should have to pay their fair share; principle says that if you work hard, invest, grow and prosper you shouldn't be punished for that.

Have some people made their fortune by being crooked? Of course. However, we believe most people who are now considered to be rich have earned their money the old fashioned way: by working hard and wisely investing their earnings.

We expect our elected leaders to do what they were elected to do by protecting our interests and ensuring that our country survives a fiscal crisis, but the burden shouldn't fall on the backs of the so called rich alone.