Government

When my class (I teach American Government) studies political parties, I tell them parties are founded around the answer to one fundamental question: What is the purpose of government?  If we believe government’s purpose is to secure our borders, we have a government with a strong military and immigration controls.  If we believe its purpose is to protect business interests, we have a government with a strong economic leaning.  If we believe its purpose is to help those who cannot help themselves, we have broad social services nets.

Of course, the challenge here in the US is that we believe government exists to do at least all of these—and more.  As a result, two things happen:

Our political parties are (allegedly) aligned by ideology, not issues  Over time, the Democratic party has been seen as the liberal party, when, in reality, being a liberal means you are simply open to changing things the way they are.  Conversely, the Republicans have been seen as the conservative party, when conservatives simply are those who like things the way they are.  This once allowed for the existence of liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats, but the mentality of toe-the- party-line-or-else seems to be ruling the day.  In addition, it seems the Republicans are doing all the changing lately, and the Democrats want things to stay the same. 

The answer? Abandon the notion of parties being liberal or conservative, and start talking about issues again—what should government do about civil liberties, defense, the environment, and so on?  This may be the best way—indeed, the only way—to discuss issues sanely, step back and take a breath, have our parties rediscover their real identities, and find common ground on at least something with our friends, neighbors, and guests at Thanksgiving.

We spend way more than we make in any given year  When we want the best military and the best social programs and the best environment and and and, our government needs more money than most governments.  Right now, we are spending far more each year than our government brings in—our current cumulative national debt is $37 trillion, or about $109,000 per US person. 

This means we either have to spend less, raise taxes, or both—and, to no one’s surprise, our two parties can’t agree on what to do, so we just keep increasing the debt.

I know this country is based on the idea of limitless possibility, and I don’t want to tread on that–so instead, let me say this.  At one point in my life, I had a mortgage on a house, sustained a cottage, and paid for two kids to go to private colleges—and still managed to save money for retirement—all on a salary not even close to eight figures. 

If I can do that, the folks who make $10 million a year can easily afford to live great lives and pay more to help our government make ends meet.  So let’s have Congress increase the tax rate to 50% on every dollar made past $10 million, provided Congress cuts existing programs by the same amount of additional revenue that tax increase would realize.  Everyone would hate it, and it would be the definition of compromise—the right answer everyone dislikes.  But it’s the right thing to do.

We sat through eternal violin concerts when our six-year-olds scratched out an undecipherable version of Twinkle Twinkle, we sighed our way through middle school drama productions that were more ham than Hamlet.  We can do this for our kids—and our country—as well.

Supply

Cars can only hold so much gas
But most cars navigate
Five Midwestern states
Without leaving you dry
Midjourney.

Pizzas come in 20 slices
But most eat four at best
And leave the rest to rot in the fridge.

Infinite supply
Isn’t everything at once
It’s all you need
When you need it.
So the goal isn’t having it all today
It’s building a plan that includes
A better understanding
Of the substance of tomorrow.

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