There has been much discussion about Socialism since the election of President Barak Obama. Health Care Reform and a Public Option for Health Care have been denounced by some as “Socialism.” Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have no taxes to pay? Think about how much your pay check would increase if no federal, state, or local taxes were deducted. Thinking about how much your savings account would grow sounds too good to be true!
Or does it? If all taxes were eliminated there would be other issues to consider. For example: there would be no public schools to educate your children, no police force to protect your life and property. And who would respond to the fire alarm when your home catches fire?
Granted, welfare may be an abused system in need of reform; we all agree it needs some tweaking! But do we not all agree that a caring and compassionate society needs some means of providing for those who through no fault of their own cannot take care of themselves? That goes beyond being Christian; it speaks to human decency.
My family has visited and loved our national parks. How much their preservation has enriched our nation! We have benefited by traveling cross-country on our interstate highway--sure beats the slow-going on those narrow two-laners. We have reaped blessings from being protected by our armed forces, although some of the political issues involved remain a little too political.
Like it or not (and I have not always liked it), the undeniable truth is that all of us have reaped many benefits from our federal taxes. Without doubt, it is true that in some cases our taxes could be lowered. Perhaps the size of our government could be reduced (a basketball game does not require so many coaches, scouts, et al, either). Yet, it remains true, as others have observed, our system may not be a perfect system but it is better than any of the others and it is the system of choice.
It is also true that we cannot cooperate (govern) together without some degree of being “social.” The alternative is to be anti-social. Being anti-social drives us apart and disparages working together. Charges of “socialism” are politically motivated, promoted without thinking through, and calculated to prevent us from achieving a common good.
Together, we enjoy what individually only a select few could otherwise enjoy. From both a Christian perspective and from the view of the common good, all of us ought to be happy to contribute out taxes to the protection of the common good of all of us. We can be sociable together or unsociable apart; we can cooperate for the common good and enjoy our good game of life, or we can go our individual ways and be manipulated by those who would greedily grasp it all without sharing it.
This is Wayne at
Walking With Warner
2 comments:
Wayne, this is naive thinking. There are reasons for taxes, such as national defense, infrastructure, and so forth. Of course we benefit from receiving the common good that comes from limited taxation. However, where we are at now in this nation is at a place where we are putting our trust in government rather than God, and relying on government to meet our needs. Poor people, many of them black, now have exchanged one "slave master" for another. You will serve the master that you see as your "source"...won't you?
Education is primarily the responsibility of parents, who may delegate that authority to others. Do you like the influence of the anti-God public education system in this country? Too much power concentrated with too few people with an agenda that is not in line with Judeo-Christian values.
Healing and charity are the responsibility of the CHURCH ... and because we collectively have failed miserably at it, it now makes it possible for the bureaucracy and corruption from an elite few who want to make decisions that should remain personal and private ones between us, our families, and God. (Thank God for the Catholics (I am not one), at least they have built hospitals and schools.)
Wayne, SOCIALISM is a WORLD VIEW, that is OPPOSED to a BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW. Maybe you had better investigate this a bit more before you put your comments on display.
Dear Anonymous: I have to disagree with you on the following statement, but I see that you agree with me that there is a valid place for some taxation (cooperative effort):
However, where we are at now in this nation is at a place where we are putting our trust in government rather than God, and relying on government to meet our needs."
A part of WHY we are where we are is because we allowed CAPITALISM to run rampant; we gave the 7' basketball players all the advantages and minimized the effectiveness of the referees in evening things out for the smaller players.
As for the JudaioChristian values, I am in complete agreemnt as to wanting them, but I believe our "Christian" values allow us to operate a political state in which everyone can share in the game. We are probably the only religion in the world that does not advocate somekind of war on the infidel.There may be some people putting all their eggs in the govt, or the political party, or whatever else it might be, but I am not one of them. BUT I do weary of people who cry "socialism" when you try to equalize the game.
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