Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker

The Importance of a Job
By: Brittany Strawder
12^th grade

To have what one wants may not necessarily be what one needs. Living in today’s world many people are blessed with the fact that they are provided for, for most of their needs. Unfortunately, there are still those few that are unable to have most of what they need and that is where the society comes in. The unfortunate in this matter may be a brother, sister, aunt, cousin, and parent of you or to someone you know.
 

I believe there are many ideas that could [arise] from this issue. As a citizen of the United States it is my duty not to judge the many choices I have before me but to select the one I feel best represents and is in dire need in the United States.

 
… Although the unemployment rate is slightly decreasing there is still a large amount of people who depend upon the government to take care of them. …They could be the homeless people you see as you drive down the highway. How would you feel?
 

I believe that jobs are the [answer]. They allow people to experiences ideas that they might have not been able to experience before. It may also give them a sense of being. Having a job and being able to go out everyday and do something that people depend on you for is [important]. Instead of a person depending on the government, in a sense, the government is depending upon them. … Jobs…affect [the] common good.
 

First, [holding a job shows] responsibility [and]… allows one to…have a sense of pride. … When a person is in depression they are in a dark tunnel but with a job a person has more opportunities, and there is a light at the end of their tunnel. When one has a career or even a steady job they enjoy it and are thankful to see daylight after coming out of a dark tunnel.
 

Secondly, being able to own something; to have a possession that nobody else can take away, could be what most people look for. They know what they need to do to be able to have private property and that is work. Individual liberty is shown through a job by that exact reason. In America working sadly is a privilege that many take for granted.  Some just go through the actions and do not really enjoy what they do but they are also taking jobs away from those without. Being lucky enough to own something is a privilege but yet many still take it for granted.  
 

Finally, having a job displays caring for the common good. When one holds a job not only could it be precious to that person but it also helps the government. It means that the people care about themselves and society enough to get a job and not be dependable on the government for aiding them their whole lives. People that work also give to the poor.  … Although some people use the government I do not think that anyone has the right to judge [these people].

I am a senior in high school and I believe that it is very prudent that I continue to work. Having a job has really changed my life. …[I know] the importance of having a career.   I believe that [I am] working for a common good [as well as myself].          

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 “steal” in his statement because, rather than working for what we want, we just take it. If something is in front of us and we don’t believe that people will see us take it, we do. It is the nature of us.

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- I see my friends’ everyday at school. My boyfriend also attends the same school I do but because of a difference in grades I do not get to see him that often. I also work and he works and our family issues sometimes separate us. I cherish the time I spend with my boyfriend more than the time I spend with my friends because I spend more time with them. Another thing that I cherish is money. I am not a person who lives for money but when I earn money I cherish that money rather than if some one gave it to me. When you earn something it gives you a more personal attachment to it because you worked for that. If someone gives you money you just say “I got money.” There is a difference and I don’t want you to believe that I am a gold-digger because I am not. I simply cherish the money I work and earned by myself.  

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- On the volleyball court when I am playing with my teammates I depend on them to do their job and to do what they are there to do. In no way am I perfect in doing the same but I still depend on them as those people depend on me to do my job. That is how the world goes round.

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 is any self-governing people who are given the ability to take from people and give to others will continue to take until there is nothing else to take. If a person takes something one time they will not necessarily quit. They might take bigger things each time until they get caught. They keep on taking until they get caught because they know they can and they are good at it.

Q5- What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?

A5- First industry to be taken over was transportation-shipping.

Q6- Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.

A6- According to the article, the more cheaply made money has caused inflation. Because money was made of less or no silver the government was able to produce more. Because there was more money in circulation the value decreased.

Q7- How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome's economy?

A7- It established a system to regulate prices and wages.

Liberty and Individual Responsibility (Dwight R. Lee)
Q8- Lee claims that individuals could be "entirely independent of others" except for what? Explain.

A8- Lee claims that individuals could be entirely independent of others except for scarcity. If we lived in a world where there was an unlimited number of everything we needed people would not have to work together and help each other out. Everything would be provided for everybody. Each person is their own individual and can bring forth many different ideas to incorporate at different times of a person’s life and have a different impact on everybody. No one person is the same as another and that is what makes scarcity a dependent variable in a person’s life.

Q9- Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.

A9- In a world without rules a person could do whatever he or she wanted. However, the person that has more power and strength has more possibilities of making people do what her/she desires. Of course there is a problem with this. If you work hard to obtain something valuable to you it could be taken away from you just as easily as it acquired by you.

Q10- Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?

A10- Private Property is crucial to freedom because it allows people to be themselves and be an individual because they know they have something of their own. It also allows them to have a sense of pride with knowing that they have someone that no body else has and cannot take away from them.

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- People all over the United States are not healthy because of natural causes, stuff that develops in the body. Others are not healthy because of personal choices that they have made. As American’s we should provide aide for the people who need it. We should show compassion for them but know when to stop. If they people are unhealthy because of personal choices they will just take advantage of the fact we are trying to help them and by our compassion. It is then that we say, you made your mess, you clean it up. We cannot carry every body on our shoulders!

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- A person cannot have the same duty as another person and have the same income and the world go round. Each individual has to have another job that people depend on them from. That is where they are free. They are their own individual person and nobody tells them who to be. Therefore, since we are our own people we will not always make the same money as other people. We all depend on each other and if people did the same job and make the same money what kind of a world would we be living in? A plain and simple one with not a lot accomplished!

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