Newell-Fonda High School
Newell, Iowa
Teacher: Mrs. Doonan
Equality vs. Freedom
By Peter Olsen
12th grade
Are people in the United States really equal? Most people would answer yes to this question. But in reality people are only equal in the opportunities that they can pursue. What Americans do have is the freedom to choose what they want to pursue. That is why the United States is called the land of the free. After someone chooses what they want to do with their life, they will not get the same treatment or even the same wages. Therefore, Americans are free in the sense that they can pursue what they want in life, but they are not equal when it comes to income with their different professions.
Lawrence Reed said, “If people are free, they will not earn equal incomes. Show me a people who have equal incomes and I will show you a people who are not free.” This statement is very accurate to life. Free people will have the choice to work hard to earn some money [or to] hardly work and barely get by. It is the individual’s choice to which one they want to be. It all depends on the personality of the person. If [people are] hard working and set their goals high, they will be successful in life. On the flip side of things, lazy people with no goals in life will more than likely be unsuccessful. The lazy people are the ones who think everything will be given to them. They need to realize that everything takes a little bit of effort. The only lazy people that are well off are the ones who marry [wealth].
An example of unequal pay but people being free is a comparison of a doctor and janitor. There are some examples why the world is run this way. If a doctor earned the same amount…as a janitor, there would be no financial incentive for somebody to go to school and become a doctor. Also if doctors [made less], the medical profession would take less interest in limiting the opportunities or loosening…the qualifications to become a doctor. The qualifications…are high because [doctors] are dealing with people’s health. Some people could argue that janitors are keeping people healthy by cleaning up everything. The thing that ruins that argument is that it takes a lot more work to become a doctor than it does to become janitor. Both jobs are important, but a doctor should get paid more than a janitor because it is a more skillful job that has higher qualifications and more demands.
If people earned equal incomes, then they would not be free. This is exactly what people wouldn’t want. If this was going on today, not very many people would be happy. People would not be free because they would be forced to work the same amount of hours but in different jobs and still get the same pay. This would drive people away from striving for high paying, very well respected jobs, which take a lot of schooling and hard work. Instead they wouldn’t even go to college and get some mopping job at a store and make the same amount as a banker or lawyer. People would not be getting just pay for the amount of work that they actually do. They should get paid what they earn. The only people who are making equal incomes are the people who do the same job at the same skill level. Besides that, it should up to the employer on much a certain person earns by his or her ability to do his or her certain job.
Being a free American I can pick and choose what I want to do with my life. It may not be equal in terms of pay to some people, but every job has a certain level of importance to society. Every job out there is important to society in one way or another. I hope that when I get out in the real world that I am doing something that I like to do, and I won’t have any regrets with the decisions I made throughout. I have confidence that I can be successful if I work hard and then apply myself to my job and that I will stay on task. I hope that other people in society will take this same approach in going into the job world. If most of society can work up to their highest standards, our nation will be very successful.
Answers To Questions Prompted By The Required Reading
Q1-Why does Machan use “steal” in his statement: “Private property solves this problem, but was abandoned along 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 [is] saying that it is stealing because we can get things paid for by taxes where we are only paying a fraction of what it would cost for one of us to pay for it and it services are still at a fraction of the price.
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.
The most common example that comes to my mind is when you are in a big crowd trying to see a game. The other people are worried about themselves because they want to see the game so they don’t even bother to worry about if you can see or not. When I’m waiting in the lunch line some people might budge in front of you because they think that they are hungrier or just more important then you.
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.
I think that this statement is very true. If there is a job that is assigned to another person, they are expected to do it. If they don’t do it, it probably will not be finished and the people that weren’t assigned the job won’t do it because it was somebody else’s responsibility.
Q4-State Kershner’s First Law. Do you agree or disagree and why?
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 would have to agree with this because people will keep looking for free hand outs and the people will keep paying taxes because it is the law and the free handouts won’t stop until the tax payers are all broke.
Q5-What industry was the first to be taken over by government in both ancient Rome and the USA?
The industry to be taken over in both the USA and ancient Rome was transportation.
Q6-Is cheapened money the cause or the outcome of inflation? Explain.
It is both. The Romans used cheapened money to help end inflation. When the US used cheapened money prices sky rocketed and inflation soared.
Q7-How did the Edict of 301 affect Rome’s economy?
The economy plummeted and eventually the law itself was set aside.
Q8-Lee claims that individuals could be “entirely independent of others” except for what? Explain.
Except that we live in a social world. We need to interact with other people in order to live by the rules of social conduct.
Q9-Describe the dilemma concerning rules as discussed by Lee.
There would not be a distinction between liberty and license. Without this scarcity would impose even more restrictions.
Q10-Why is the concept of private property crucial to freedom?
If the people could not own private property, then the people would not be free to what they want with the land because it would not be theirs so there would be no freedom.
Q11-Argue both pro and con that in his testimony Lawrence Reed was advocating compassion and aid for the poor.
He said that the government can both give and take away. He thinks the poor should be on their own because if they are given everything then someone is having something taken away. He does want them to give help to those who try to better themselves though.
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.
I think what he is saying that is if people are free they can excel at different levels and earn a different amount for how much they deserve. If the people have the same incomes then they are probably slaves or indentured servants and don’t have any choices in what they do.