Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
Only in America
By Emily Renyer
12th Grade
What makes the United States so prominent and diverse from other nations? Many people would have different answers to this broad question, but I personally believe that the way our government is arranged is the major reason why our country is what it is. By implementing the United States’ management system, each person is ensured individual liberty, making our population benefit and suffer as a whole.
Although it may sound like a logical idea, having equal incomes does not benefit any country. In the United States, our government allows each of us to have different salaries. Every individual can work to the best of his or her ability and slowly work his or her way up the earnings ladder. Knowing this, motivation is developed and dreams are formed. The groundwork of this country was built on the visions of our Founding Fathers, who encouraged new dreams to develop in this generation to promote the U.S. into growing into a more prosperous country.
Have you ever heard of the saying, “Keeping up with the Joneses?” In today’s society, this is a common phrase used to describe America’s competitive drive. Although it seems to have a stigma attached to it, I believe it works spectacularly to this country’s advantage. Without the freedom of having different incomes, we would all (theoretically) have the same mediocre worth of possessions. By earning different salaries, the competition created by this motto enables our economy to prosper, benefiting not only the wealthy individuals but the less fortunate ones also.
The ability for individuals’ salaries to change enables our country to be very flexible. As people experience fluctuations in income, they become more able to adapt to change. The freedom of having varying salaries makes our nation a striving and accommodating one.
Unfortunately, sometimes the United States government provides too much for us in the form of individual freedom. [Consider] the financing of public properties in general. Everyday, many people use playgrounds, government supported recreational facilities. Each of these [and other] “gifts” given to us can actually harm the American population…. I feel the…money for luxuries provided by the government,…should be [budgeted for] more needed projects. Each day, we take advantage of these unnecessary contributions from the government, yet we don’t take care of these properties [held in common]. … [When we] expect more from our government than, [in my opinion], we should be receiving, [we become]…wasteful.
Sure, we all pay taxes. Unfortunately, that money only goes so far. There are numerous [government] programs...that are significant to our nation’s well being. Many [believe] that [tax] money should go towards what they individually want, but considering [they] can’t come to an agreement, this [is not feasible]. …Tax rates [would be intolerable] in order to make everyone happy. Many Americans feel the same way as Arthur Godfrey: “I’m proud to be paying taxes in the United States. The only thing is – I could be just as proud for half the money.”
Often, we neglect jobs we expect others to fulfill from being spoon-fed by the government. Each of us begins to think only of ourselves and how the government seems to owe us certain items that we should be able to attain on our own. This may end up making our people lazy and less resourceful. Perhaps, we should take into account John F. Kennedy’s famous saying: “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
… According to the National Debt Clock, currently, the United States owes over $8,011,406,289,613.99. …In fact, each day the rate increases by approximately $1.62 billion. Decreasing the amount of money spent on projects that individuals can pay for themselves would help, at least, lessen the increasing debt.
Looking at both the drawbacks and advantages of personal freedom insured by the United States government helps one [form] an opinion [about] whether or [Americans] are being affected…more [in] a positive or negative way. I personally feel that although [there are some problems], overall, the government is benefiting us individually and as a group.
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.”?
Answer: I believe that Machan uses the word “steal” in his statement because he is trying to get across the point that the government is not supposed to pay for our personal desires. He thinks the budget should be there to protect, maintain, and preserve our rights, not our material and recreational wishes. Machan is stating that our tax money is to be spent on the true jobs of the government and not on something we should be paying for by ourselves.
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 own personal experience.
Answer: There are a couple of examples that pertain to my life from Machan’s statement. The majority of humanity takes for granted the fact that we were put on this earth with clean air to breathe into our lungs and unpolluted water to drink. Many of us, myself included at times, use aerosol cans, throw trash away instead of recycling it, and often pitch garbage into any convenient place. These actions are debilitating to the environment, the object that is the most crucial to all living beings and is completely neglected. Also, on a more student-orientated view, textbooks are often regarded with little respect, thrown around, drawn in, and ripped. Many future students will use these resources to acquire an education, and my current year devastates these properties of the school system.
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.
Answer: Although the thought of individuals avoiding a job because they think
others will accomplish it is a negative one, I believe it most definitely holds
truth. Even at my school, after lunch is finished, students won’t pick up their
food or other litter because they think that it is the job of the cooks and
custodians-to do the dirty work. Since this action occurs at my own young age,
one can imagine how over the years it can develop into affecting more serious
affairs.
Are We Going the Way of Rome? (Lawrence Reed)
Q4.) State Kershner’s First Law. Do you agree or disagree and why?
Answer: Kershner’s First Law is, "When a
self-governing people confer upon their government the power to take from some
and give to others, the process will not stop until the last bone of the last
taxpayer is picked bare." I agree with Kershner. Governments that have the
power to take money from the people to support other members of the society will
begin to enforce this principle in order for advancement, but in the long-run it
will only mean set-back. The effect is a continuous cycle because there are
always individuals that are wealthy and there are always individuals that are
less fortunate. In order to satisfy the poor, the wealthy will be brought down
to a lower financial level and the poor may not even improve their station
because they also have to pay the taxes to “give to themselves”. The concept
means well but ends in disaster.
Q5.) What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?
Answer: The first industry to be taken over by the government in both Rome and
the United States was the transportation industry.
Q6.) Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.
Answer: Cheapened money is the cause and outcome of inflation. It is the cause
because since money is worth less, prices have to increase. It is also the
outcome of inflation because the government is trying to compensate for
overspending by making more money, causing each piece of currency to be worth
less.
Q7.) How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome’s economy?
Answer: The Edict of 301 actually hurt Rome’s economy because people couldn’t get a worthy price for their goods so they didn’t come to market anymore. Unfortunately, the fact that there was a death penalty involved with regulating prices, didn’t encourage spending.
Liberty and Individual Responsibility (Dwight R. Lee)
Q8.) Lee claims that individuals could be “entirely independent of others” except for what? Explain.
Answer: Lee said the individuals could be entirely independent of others if
scarcity didn’t exist. He is trying to explain that not only one group of
people will have everything that the population needs as a whole to get by or to
be happy. This means that we have to communicate and cooperate with others in
order to achieve our desired standard of living and insure prosperity.
Q9.) Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.
Answer: Lee tries to make the point that even though many people do not like
rules, they are necessary in order to insure that individual rights remain kept.
In situations with no rules, the rule of force act comes into effect. The
strongest and meanest would be able to force others to give in to their wants.
This condition would actually imperil upon most individual’s freedom.
Q10.) Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?
Answer: The concept of private property is crucial to freedom because it is dependent upon individual liberty. The right to have possessions that belong to only one person and no one else can destroy them, enables each of us to have the freedom to acquire personal belongings and not have to worry about whether or not they will be taken away.
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.
Answer: Lawrence Reed was not advocating compassion for the poor when he was talking about how there should not be equal incomes for all people. If there were equal salaries, the theory he opposes would at least try to benefit the poor. He was showing consideration towards the poor when he was refuting confiscatory tax rates.
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.
Answer: Mr. Reed means that if the government controls what people earn, by
having everyone make the same salary, then they are not free. Each person has
different talents, abilities, and levels of education in which he or she can
make a variety of salaries. This is a benefit to us because we can move up or
down the pay scale, enabling us to be motivated and challenged.