Since the United States entered the recession in 2008, many more people in this country have had a hard time making ends meet. The number of "poor" people has skyrocketed and for some, finding a job seems to be a hopeless cause at this point. I saw in the news this morning an interesting statistic brought to light by one of the presidential candidates, Mitt Romney. This statistic was the percentage of people who don't pay income tax in this country. That number is 47% (46% actually, but close enough). When I first heard that number I thought that it couldn't be possible, nearly 150 million people not paying income tax in this country. Well, that number turns out to be correct as of 2011. After reading about it a little more, I understand why that number stands where it is. A good portion are elderly and the rest don't make enough to qualify them to pay income taxes. There is a small portion that make above a certain amount yet take enough deductions to equal everything out. Now here is my problem with all of this, our government is increasing in size every year, yet the number of people paying income tax has decreased. As it turns out, the top 10 percent of the population when it comes to income payed nearly 70% of the tax burden in the United States. Should the top earners shoulder more of the burden? Absolutely. But even with all that is collected in taxes, our government still spends more than it takes in. So how can we sustain a growing government with a shrinking tax base? The simple answer is, we can't. If a company experienced a reduction in profit for whatever reason, they wouldn't hire more people. Instead, they would lay off who they needed to in order to remain in business with hopes that things would turn around in the future and they would be able to hire new people again. However, with the recession we went through and are still dealing with the effects from, our government has decided to do the opposite, increase spending and the number of government agencies. Frankly, it is a business model that is doomed to failure.
So with all that said and many people clamoring for more aid from the government, what are we supposed to do? With our government taking in less money that it used to, it can't simply increase services and aid without finding another source of income. Unfortunately, there are millions of people in this country who do need help. This is where the conundrum arises. Some would say we have to tax the rich more and give more to the poor. Personally, I don't like the idea because we would still fall short, our society would edge more towards socialism, and people would begin to feel entitled to the aid they receive from our government. My first idea would be to shrink the size of our government and its budget to correspond with what is collected in taxes. Without balancing our budget, we can't even begin to look at anything else in terms of aid or social services. Part of balancing the budget would mean shuttering certain departments within the government and in large part, shrinking the size of the defense budget. Some people would argue that if we did any of those things that we would increase the number of those without jobs as certain people would have to be laid off in the process of shrinking our government. Unfortunately, life isn't fair and lay offs are part of life if you are in the work force. To simply keep people employed when you don't collect enough money to pay for everyone is folly. After shrinking the size of the government, perhaps there should be programs instated by which private corporations and individuals can earn tax credits for donating money to the needy or starting social service programs within their given area of operation. By doing this, we would take social services out of the government's hands and place the burden on corporations and the wealthy. Think about it, large corporations and the wealthy already look for every tax deduction they can take and if offered another for improving social services in their area, don't you think they would take it? I do. By doing these few things, we can make a big difference in our country's deficit, our general moral and feelings towards the government, and potentially reduce our country's deficit while still helping those in need.
My biggest problem with relying on our government for social services and providing for those in need is that they simply hand out money as long as you make under a certain amount or don't have a job. Governments were not made to provide for those in need. Simply put, we as people need to make sure that our fellow citizens have what they need to survive. I know that not many people view it the same way, but it is up to all of us to help those in need, not some government entity doling out freebies. The purpose of a government in my mind is to run a country, establish and enforce laws, and ensure the safety of its citizens both through the judicial system and through a military. Beyond that, a government should operate as minimally as possible. Unfortunately, our government is the complete opposite. It tries to do too much for too many people and often forgets its sole purpose. Yes, there are a lot of people in need, but our government should not be the one to take care of them. Instead, it should be the communities that these people belong to that help them out. Just look back a hundred years. Back in the early 1900's, people who were in need relied on families, churches, or their community to help them. Yet in the wake of social security, welfare, general dispersal of families across long distances, all that has changed and people instead rely on our government to take care of their needs instead. To change all of this would be a monumental feat, and I unfortunately think it is one that will most likely not happen. Our military budget will not shrink due to the military industrial complex and our government will not shrink in size due to the outrage that the people who rely on it for assistance would bring about. Similarly, with fewer and fewer people getting involved in their communities, we are pushing people closer and closer to the edge of society, isolating them, and essentially telling them they are not worth our time. So do we change or does our government change? I think we need both, our government needs to step back and shrink and we the people need to step up and do more for those in need. If you own a home and a car, then you can help someone in need, even if it is a little bit. That right there is the best social service you could ask for, not government aid, but one person helping out another.
No comments:
Post a Comment