Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
Equilibrium
Betsy Clark
Grade 12
Freedom in the USA requires a steady balance of rules. Individuals in the United States would not be able to maintain their independence without this balance. For example, if there were no rules whatsoever, then there would be complete chaos in our society today. …This is called Anarchy. Soon after the “no rules” rule was put in place, a dictator would for sure arise and take control. Most likely a controlling type of person would fill this position. This is similar to what happened in Germany with Hitler rising [to power]. …Once a dictatorship is instituted, rules would be enforced again.
The other extreme [is] having to follow so many rules can be confusing and most of the population would not be able to remember all of the laws and regulations. So many community members could be locked up for insignificant crimes and soon there would have to be a massive amount of jails built for all of the criminals. After this happens, there would be very few civilians left in the communities….
Along with [some] rules [add] freedom and the right to own private property. Having possession of one’s property gives the individual a sense of independence and responsibility. The responsibility of possessing something of such value makes one want to take care of it or strive to do better…. If someone chooses not to maintain their [property] then it will indeed either be a joke to the neighborhood or be taken away. If [others] notice that the neighbors do not preserve the condition of their house, [allowing] peeling paint, holes in the roof, or [overgrown landscaping], then that will make [others] want to take care of and retain the quality of their own houses. This can [empower them] so they can do as they wish.
Owning private property also means paying taxes but there are now ways around payment. According to Machan US citizens are now able to “steal” their way through life. This doesn’t actually mean being a thief, but it means manipulating certain aspects of the taxing method of the government. People do this in many ways, one of which is welfare even if they do not need it they continue to take advantage of the taxpayer’s dollar. Reed, on the other hand, said that everyone chooses their destiny to a certain point. So, this means that poor people chose to be the way they are as well as rich people. In all actuality then, people should be doing well and not have to “steal” money at all.
Having property and maintaining it is possible with one person, but many have families in which the duties are split. When a group or organization distributes the tasks evenly a few always tend to work a bit harder than the others. It seems as though the larger the group, the less the members of the assembly want to contribute. Therefore, a large cluster is not always more efficient. This also occurs in the workplace and job environment. When several people have the same duties to fulfill and get paid the same amount, some of the group tends to relax more than others. This is not fair to the hard workers because they do the majority of the work and are getting the same salary.
Human beings rely on other human beings whether it be [in the workplace] or in the home. Lee claims that people could be completely independent of each other except for scarcity. This is true because most are capable of surviving on their own. Many can live with what they have and produce what they need. If they are not able to manufacture the goods needed for survival, because of certain conditions such as weather, then the product is scarce. When there is a shortage of that particular product and it is necessary for living, then one will definitely have to get those goods from somewhere where it is being produced more efficiently. The necessities being manufactured…cause one person to rely on another and this is why human beings cannot be entirely independent of one another.
Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading
Welfare State on the Street Where You Live (Tibor Machan)
Q1- Why
does Machan use "steal" in his statement: "Private property solves this problem,
but was abandoned a long time ago when taxes reached the point where we can
steal our way to being provided with all sorts of things we desire, never mind
thinking about paying for them or long-range budgeting.”?
A1- Machan uses the term “steal” in his statement to persuade the readers to believe that when we acquire an item of some value and know that there are certain ways around payment by using taxpayer’s money that it is a wrong decision to make.
Q2- Machan said: "For that which is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it." Give two examples of this from your personal experience.
A2- On the cheerleading squad here at BHS, several girls tried out for the team. Twelve girls made the varsity squad, and some did not feel as though they should have to work as hard as others because there were so many other girls to do their jobs. Soon, some were removed and a few even quit. Now that there are fewer members, the more we get accomplished. Another occasion when this applies to me is in school projects. Some students feel the need to put forth extra effort, either for themselves or to please the teacher. On the other hand, the less driven children do not exert as much energy into the job while believing that the others will accomplish everything for them.
Q3- Do you agree with Machan that "...everybody is more inclined to neglect the
duty which he expects another to fulfill; as in families many attendants are
often less useful than a few."? Give an objective example of this.
A3- I definitely agree that everyone is more likely to neglect a certain duty
that they expect another individual to fulfill. I feel this way because in our
family every child is expected to carry out certain chores, and since one person
is more willing to contribute to duties, the others, therefore, do not fulfill
their roles in maintaining the household.
Are We Going the Way of
Rome?
(Lawrence Reed)
Q4- State Kershner's
First Law. Do you agree or disagree and why?
A4- Kershner’s first law states: “When a
self-governing people confer upon their government the power to take from some
and give to others, the process will no stop until the last bone of the last
taxpayer is picked bare.” I do agree with Kershner’s statement because as the
government take from the wealthy people and give to the less fortunate, the
process does not end. The process indeed, continues to circulate until the
wealthy become the less fortunate and the procedure pursues without end.
Q5- What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?
A5- The industry to be first taken over by government in Ancient Rome and the
USA was transportation. The reason for this is because of taxation over
anything being transported, which gives the government an immense amount of
control over any item being transported all over America.
Q6- Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.
A6- I believe that cheapened money is the cause of inflation because programs and organizations for the government have to be paid for in someway. I also think that cheapened currency will be the end of the USA because the value of every cent decreases constantly.
Q7- How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome's economy?
A7- The Edict 301 was devastating to Rome’s economy. Rome was going through a
rough time period and the Edict controlled prices of merchandise being traded
and transported. If a violation occurred, then the consequence was death and
needless to say many were killed in a small amount of time. Since so many were
dying over this issue, people tried [to] rely on themselves to survive and less
on trade.
Liberty and Individual Responsibility
(Dwight R. Lee)
Q8- Lee claims that
individuals could be "entirely independent of others" except for what? Explain.
A8- Scarcity is the only reason we cannot be completely independent according to
Lee. The reason is because when there is a product that is scarce we rely on
others a great deal whether it be for trade or for other reasons.
Q9- Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.
A9- The dilemma concerning rules is that too many or too little can be the
downfall to a society. Not enough rules or worse, no rules at all would be
complete chaos. Too many rules is actually just as bad because people would not
be able to memorize every rule that they would have to follow. Therefore, every
society needs a medium of rules to succeed.
Q10- Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?
A10- Private property is crucial to freedom because maintaining one’s own
belongings creates a sense of independence. Whether a person decides to take
care of his or her property is their choice and that is freedom.
Lawrence Reed's testimony before the U.S. Senate Budget Committee.
Q11- Argue both
pro and con that in his testimony Lawrence Reed was advocating compassion and
aid for the poor.
A11- Reed was arguing compassion for the poor by stating, “Government
has nothing to give anybody except what it first takes from somebody, and a
government that’s big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to
take away everything you’ve got.” By saying this he shows us an example that
any given day we could be in the exact same place as the poor are right now.
But he also said, “…people are free to be themselves, to be masters of their own
destinies, to apply themselves…” In this statement it is clear that he was
attempting to communicate that everyone makes their own choices and therefore
the rich got rich because they wanted to and the poor got poor the same way.
Q12- "If people are free, they will not earn equal incomes; conversely, show me
a people who have equal incomes and I will show you a people who are not free."
Explain in your own words Mr. Reed's meaning.
A12- People can have the same incomes and work differently, some harder than others. This can occur in more than one work place or even if more than one person have the same job. Some individuals just put forth more effort than others. It is not fair that various people exert more effort and get paid the same, but that is how our society works.