I'm a Tax & Spend Liberal--And Why You Should Be, Too!
Wed Sep 13, 2006 at 04:19:19 AM PDT
When the Republicans heat up the slime machine, there's one tried and true line that nearly always makes Democrats run and hide.
Tax & Spend Liberal.
I've watched elections in which Democratic candidates did amazingly well in the polls, and the more Liberal their platform, the better the people loved them. Until the Republican slime machine cranked up.
"Yer nuthin' but a Tax & Spend Lib'rul!"
And off the candidate would run, desperate to prove that he wasn't. "He?" some of you will ask. I've noticed men doing it. But both sexes do it.
And, I promise you, this line is going to surface again in October and November.
So it's time to stop running.
Let's take a look at exactly what the Republican Slime Machine is accusing us of, shall we?
TAX.
Let's start by assuming government has a legitimate reason to exist. After all, the Republican candidate is running, and that candidate certainly intends to enact a program in office, and hopes to run the government. Both parties agree that Federal, State, Local governments have a reason to exist (for those who've read the Declaration of Independence, you've already noted that the only legitimate purpose for government is to enable people to more easily exercise the rights their Creator gave them).
If the government is going to use money for any purpose, what is a fair way to derive that money? Should we borrow it from foreign governments? That makes foreign governments our landlords, with disturbing financial power over us. Should we borrow it from corporations or the wealthy? That again gives inordinate power over our government, instituted among us to serve all the people, into the hands of the wealthy, rather than the totality of us Americans. Or should we ask each citizen and resident of our nation to contribute to the functioning of the government they have instituted, according to their ability to do so, and according to the benefits that they derive from that government?
That last, to me, seems by far the most just. It is for that reason that we have progressive taxes--by no means a new idea (Athens, the world's first experimental Democracy, had them)--such as Federal Income Tax, whereby those who enjoy the greatest benefits of our society are asked to shoulder the largest share of the burden of supporting it.
So if my choices are: Mortgage our nation's future, Borrow money we don't have from other countries, or Pay for our own government via fair Taxation... I'm in favor of Taxation. I want it to be fair, progressive, and I want that money spent wisely and well--but that's the method by which I want that money raised.
SPEND.
Make a list of things you think the government should do, in order to better secure the rights of Americans for their enjoyment (which is, as the Declaration says, the only reason to have a government at all). You might pick some of these. You probably won't pick all of them. But I'll bet everyone, no matter their party, will pick at least one of them.
* Defend American citizens from foreign invasion.
* Make orderly treaties with foreign governments.
* Provide proper avenues of legal recourse for injustices.
* Punish crime and keep the peace.
* Foster the growth of small businesses, so that the citizenry make their best contributions to our society.
* Guarantee that our food and drink are not poisonous or adulterated.
* Uphold the dignity of the downtrodden with temporary assistance.
* Ensure a good education to all citizens, that they may run their country wisely.
* License professionals in the public interest, such as physicians or attorneys.
* Maintain safe roads and infrastructure to facilitate safe trade and travel.
* Insure the stability of financial institutions, so that citizens invest confidently.
* Uphold the freedom of all citizens to worship freely, speak freely, and publish freely.
Now if you think any of these should be government activities, I have bad news. Those activities will cost money. Yep, in addition to any of the activities you've chosen to ask your government to do, you have also asked the government to Spend.
Like you, I want the government to Spend wisely--especially because I want that money raised through Taxes! In fact, that's the easiest way to ensure that I will ask the government to Spend wisely: having the money they spend be money they got from me!
LIBERAL.
The world around us changes. This is no surprise. To be ready to meet those changes wisely, we need to be open to what those changes are. We might not embrace every single one of them. But in order to know which to embrace and which to reject, we'll need to look at each of these changes with open eyes, and without fear. And we'll need our government to do the same.
The government does not merely raise money through Taxation so that it may itself become rich. A surplus is nice, and a wise precaution to have. But the monies the government has belong ultimately and directly to the citizenry, and that money ultimate should return to the citizens in the form of public goods. That means that in order to provide the best government possible, we might at times call upon our government and ourselves to be generous. We might ask our government to rebuild homes that natural disasters have destroyed, or to feed the hungry in our own neighborhoods or our neighboring continents. We might ask our government to support the children of soldiers who give their lives to keep us safe, or to pay for the medical care of those who risk and lose their health while pulling our loved ones to safety from fallen buildings.
And to meet the challenges that life brings us, we will need to be at our best, rather than our worst. We will need to be loving, rather than hateful. Accepting of the fact that our fellow citizens do not all look like us, sound like us, worship like us, or love like us. We'll need to rise to our highest, best selves, to distinguish between instinctual fear of the unknown and the moral and ethical discernment that asks us to condemn harmful behavior.
And if there is a word that embodies generosity, progressiveness of thought, and loving aspiration to live at one's highest potential, that word is, yes, "Liberal."
So, yes, although the Republican Slime Machine is due to crank up on schedule, and although many will shout these words at you, or at me, or at our chosen candidates with hatred, fear, and contempt, I am a Tax & Spend Liberal, and I am proud to be one.
Because as far as I'm concerned, that's the finest thing an American could ever be: the most responsible, the most faithful, the most loyal, and the most intelligent.
And I hope you're one, too.
