Lori from weebles woblog has asked her readers to think about their core beliefs, as we in the U.S. contemplate the presidential election. So, here are my answers:
1. Overall,* do you believe people are basically bad (1) or good (100)? Try to put a number on it.
I fully believe that people are basically good. You can put me down for a solid 100. I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know so many people in my years from so many places and circumstances. And I believe that people are not only basically good, but that people are very much the same at their core. We have more in common than I believe we often recognize. And I mean to include all people in this, not just people in my community, my city, state, or country.
This is an important question, I believe, especially when we look at questions of people who have committed unthinkable crimes. For instance, I recently had a conversation about repeated offenders of child molestation, and sex offenders in general, and whether or not these people are able to rehabilitate themselves. My answer was: I sure hope so!! If we don't believe that they can rehabilitate themselves (i.e., that some people are just "bad" and that's that), then why would there be any reason to work with these folks, provide them with therapy and support to examine their actions? We should just throw them in jail, since there isn't any hope. I believe in rehabilitation, which gets back to my belief that we are inherently good. There is good in everyone, and it's our job as a society to find it.
2. Overall, do you think the best economic system would reward people based on what they need (1) or on what they deserve (100)? Again, put a number on it.
Overall I think the best economic system would "reward" people based on what they need. I believe this mostly because, who is deciding what is deserving or not? Once you get into what we deserve, then we get into some shaky ground for who decides what is deserving, and whose values that deserving is based on. Does one woman deserve paid family leave because she works for a wealthy company, while another woman (ahem.... me!) doesn't deserve paid family leave because she works as a public school teacher (and don't even get me started on the fact that giving birth would entitle me to "maternity leave" - at least a few weeks of pay - while adopting doesn't - guess I don't deserve that, either!) However, I don't think I would go with a full 100 on this one. I think I'd hover more around the area of 85, because I do think that there should be some room in an economic system for incentives - for those who go above and beyond. I just think that in our very, very wealthy country, it's INSANE that so many people lack health care, the ability to attend college, basic shelter, food, and other basic needs, because....? why? they don't deserve it? they don't work hard enough? Clearly there are people that don't work hard in our society. But there are also people who bust their arse working minimum wage jobs that don't offer health coverage, that don't allow them either the time or the money to further their education, and that certainly don't offer any kind of decent solution to childcare.
3. What do you think are the main functions (say, 5-10 of them) of government? You could even divide your list into (a) Federal and (b) State/Local.
I think the main functions of government are: to protect its residents from harm (notice I do NOT say citizens - my husband isn't a citizen and I believe he deserves protection as well); to ensure that every person has their basic needs covered (see above) - whether or not they actually supply those basic needs or not; to represent the interests of its people; to ensure that individual and group rights are upheld - I mean civil and human rights, here; to step in to provide those services for which there is no market incentive to do so. I think that all levels of government have a role to play in each of these functions.
4. In an ideal society, what percentage of the wealth created by citizens should go to fund government**? In other words, what is a fair price to pay for the functions of government you list in #3?
I think that taxes should be higher than they are. I would much rather pay higher taxes and know that I have health care, that my neighbors have health care, that my children and my neighbors children have access to GOOD public education with all the resources they need (in my city, many basic needs in classrooms, such as pencils, come out of teacher's pockets), etc... I think that currently the amount of money that we DO give to the government is mis-managed and spent in ways that I don't necessarily agree with. But IDEALLY I think we would each pay a bit more in return for better public services.
RRAARRR! Lori got me all fired up! :) To add your voice to the mix, head over to Lori's blog to cut and paste the questions to your blog, or provide your answers in her comments section.
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3 comments:
Oooh, this is really interesting. I'm basically with you on all your answers, but I'll have to think about the details more. Thanks for pointing it out.
By "deserve," I mean that you benefit economically based on the value (deemed by people who would voluntarily pay you for your services) of what you create. In other words, you might argue that a heart surgeon "deserves" more than a fast-food worker. Consumers will voluntarily pay more for the surgeon's services than for the clerk's.
And that addresses the issue of why Payton Manning makes more than Mrs Smith, the Chemistry teacher. He has rarer skills that appeal to many more people and cause them to voluntarily "vote with their dollars" for him.
You won't get adoption leave!? Your workplace differentiates this from giving birth? You might check to see if becoming a parent -- any way -- is covered by FMLA. Not sure how I feel about government mandating this, but I feel strongly about two groups (parents through birth and parents through adoption) being treated differently.
I'd be interested to also have a discussion on what "basic needs" are. They seem to change over the years -- witness TVs and cell phones, which were once considered luxuries.
Thank you so much for thinking and writing and clarifying. I so appreciate your answers!
Just popped in from Lori's blog.
A comment on the wealthy and college educations, etc. Just some food for thought.
The wealthy do not really utilized grants, scholarships, student aid, etc. They pay for schoold out of Mom and Dad's pocket.
If a woman has a child+ even before the age of 18, is living on State and Federal aid, she too has a free ride to college on the American tax dollar not a parent.
As a caucasian female, who was single with no children on my own, I was not given even a hit of help for college costs. I worked full time as a waitress, paying for my own one room studio appartment and all that came with it and my own health care, and I was inelligible for college help.
Based on a rewards system, who "earned" the right to a paid college education?
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