Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
Seeking Balance
By Kayla Laubner
12th grade
For many citizens in the United States it is really important for them to have some [sense] of balance in their day-to-day lives. Not only do we seek balance in our personal lives but we also need some kind of balance with our freedom from the government. I think that this form of freedom is the most important, because if we didn’t have some freedom for the government it would be very had to have a balanced life in other way.
One way we, as Americans, find balance in our government is by having unalienable rights that are given to everyone. One of these rights is the right to own property. In many countries the right to own property is taken for granted. Many people think that everyone has always had the right to own property, but actually that right first came around during the days of the ancient Romans. Could you image if you still today didn’t have [the] right to own property, which would mean basically everything that you have could be taken away at any time. Just like that everything is gone. From the shoes on your feet, to the place that you call home. Today people tend to take the right to own property for granted. It is like the more you own the more power you have. Essentially it all goes back to the money is power theory, which in today’s society…is true for the most part. In America it is illegal for the government to have monopolies over business, which in some ways…is fair, but in others…is a little crazy.
[We also have the] right to earn as much money as we can. There is no limit on how much money one single person can obtain. … [However], the more money a citizen makes the [more] money the government takes. But there are also some down falls with this right. American citizens think that since there is no limit to how much money they can make they think they have to become rich, and they tend to spend more time at work than with their families. The fact that people are so absorbed in making so much money…contributes to the fact that over the years Americans have became lazy in [other] ways. We, as a society, are always looking for an easy way around things, or looking for what is quick and easy.
Another pitfall to the fact that Americans can earn as much money as they like is that American’s get this thought that since they have earned the money themselves then they shouldn’t have to pay anything back to the government. They try to cheat on their taxes, which is a very big problem, because all the other people who are actually honest have to pay for the people who are not paying as much as they are supposed to. You probably would not believe all the ways people have found to get around paying taxes, which in the long run..will only hurt them. It is also kind of sad that the people who are most likely to attempt to cheat on their taxes are the people who can actually afford to pay higher [taxes], yet refuse to [do so].
One thing that has really impacted the way Americans live today, compared to the way they used to live, is fast food. Now instead of families all coming together in the evening to have a meal most families just take the easy route and grab something on the way home. Not only does this affect the families, but it is also not healthy. Also…many people eating [fast food] on a daily basis has [made Americans] obese.
Not only are Americans lazy about not spending enough time with their families, but some have proven to be lazy with certain jobs that need [to be] done. Some citizens of the upper class in America think that they are above other people, but they really aren’t. They think that they should not have to do jobs that require physical work or if they are dirty work, and they think that other people should have to do these certain jobs.
Basically over the years our government and society has changed in some many different ways. This is very weird that our government has actually changed, but the Constitution [of] the United States has been one of the longest consecutive running constitutions in history. I think that our government needs to go back to the basics….
Answers To Questions Prompted By The RequiredReading
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."?
He uses the word steal, because that’s basically what he thinks people are doing. Because there are some many people out there who find ways round honestly paying their taxes and the find ways to get rich off of the Government that they can basically afford anything they want.
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.
There are some many things that most people take for granted, such as their health. Numerous people have good heath yet they just don’t seem to care and they ingest harmful things such as fatty foods and things that are unhealthy. One other thing that people often take for granted is their time. Most people think that they must be immortal. Many people these days do not spend every much time with their families because they are too wrapped up in their jobs and getting ahead in life. But in reality whether your rich or not won’t make a difference in the end.
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.
Yes, I think that this statement is true, but I don’t necessarily agree with it. If a person thinks that he or she is above doing a certain task then most likely they are not going to do it, and they would probably expect someone else to do it for them. But I don’t think that it is fair for the other person to have to do a task that they might not actually want to do either.
Are We Going the Way of
Rome? (Lawrence Reed)
Q4- State Kershner's First Law. Do you agree or disagree and why?
Kershner’s First Law: “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 think that is statement is true to some extent. I believe that lower class citizens should not have to pay great amounts of taxes and that rich people who can afford to pay higher taxes should. But I don’t think that the upper class people should have to disperse their money to people of a lower class.
Q5- What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?
When Roman civilization began it consisted of many small farmers and herders. Basically every family made their own living and there weren’t many extras. Eventually Rome evolved into a complex society. First large scale businesses made their appearance. This is basically the same path that the United States has been taking.
Q6- Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.
The Roman Empire had to make there money cheaper because it was actually costing them more to produce money than the money was actually worth. For example they first had their money made out of silver and silver is rather expensive, so they were spending more money on buying the silver then the coins were worth. So they found a cheaper way to make their money and this made the Roman currency go down. It decreased because the coins were only .02 percent silver, and to the shop owners that wasn’t enough, so the shop owners would raise the prices of their good to met their expectations.
Q7- How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome's economy?
The Edict of 301 was a law that established a system of set wages and price controls. For anyone who violated this edict were sentenced to death.
Liberty
and Individual Responsibility (Dwight R. Lee)
Q8- Lee claims that individuals could be "entirely independent of others"
except for what? Explain.
People could not live in a world entirely independent from others, because we live in a world where individuals must interact with one another. This interaction is shaped by rules of social conduct.
Q9- Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.
Rules of social conduct impose restrictions on the activities of individuals, and establish the important distinction between liberty and license, but it doesn’t totally work due to the presents of competition amongst people.
Q10- Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?
The concept of private property is crucial because people have the right to own property. The ancient Romans were the first to decide that everyone had the right to own property no matter what class of society you belonged too, and this law is still used today.
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.
My first impression is that Lawrence Reed is against compassion and aid to the poor. He points out that in our society we are free to work as much or as little as we choose. Those who cannot or will not work require more and more taxpayer dollars from those who do. When it was created, welfare was intended to help people through a rough time. Instead, people have become dependent on it and their dependence has cost the recipients self-esteem, stable families, and motivation to provide for themselves. In this respect I believe Reed has compassion for the poor who have received a message from their government that they are not capable or at least not expected to amount to anything. Other than this, I do not see any evidence that Reed supports aid for the poor.
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.
Free people will never be economic equals because they have the freedom to choose their career as well as how much time and energy they devote to it. They also have the choice to save what they earn to share it generously, to spend it wisely, or foolishly. The only way we could become economic equals would be to have absolutely no choice in any of these matters.