So here’s the thing:
I work very hard for every dollar I earn, and I believe that gives me the right to decide where I should spend each dollar. I object to handing over a large number of dollars to the government in taxes, because I don’t believe the government is as smart as I am.
To be clear, I don’t object to taxes. I realize that the only way for the government to be able to pay for essential services, like the judicial system, is by collecting taxes from me. I just don’t want it done to excess.
But how, you say, can we help the unfortunate in our society?
Here’s a quote, taken from dooce.com:
But what about the family who cannot afford [medical] insurance for their child? The family who can barely make rent, and if they stretch the budget they can eat three meals a day all week, let’s hope nothing bad happens to their kids because then they’re screwed. Kids, go hug your father, he’s off to one of his three jobs, none of which provide him insurance. And it’s not because he’s lazy or unwilling to work, it’s that his family couldn’t afford to send him to college, or he came from a family that didn’t know they should encourage him to go to college because they were busy trying to survive. If giving up more of my paycheck could help get this family adequate healthcare, then PLEASE. TAKE MY MONEY.
And there’s the rub. The tough guy in me says that the problem is lazy people, not the people who are working three jobs. But what about it? What about the person who works very hard, and still can’t make ends meet?
I’m afraid there are no easy answers. I suppose if taxes were really low, we wouldn’t need to work three jobs to earn enough money to pay for things like insurance.
Here in Canada, where I live, health care is “free”. But of course it isn’t really. We pay for it with our taxes, and because health care is provided primarily by the government, there aren’t enough doctors. There is no point in free health care if you can’t actually get health care.
The answer, I believe, is to have the government pay for health care, but have it provided by the private sector. More on that in future posts.