Thu 3 Jan 2008
One of the biggest conflict between the “left” and “right” all across the world is what level of responsibility lies with the individual and what level lies with the government the individual pays.
Without government or any form of community organization, the line is obvious…all responsibility lies with the person. The larger the government gets, the more taking over responsibility is expected of them (and then, it seems, the government gets larger.
Assuming that most people believe somewhere in in the middle is the correct balance, where does that balance lie?
(related topics: health care, personal defense, policing, punishment, freedom, taxation, national defense, loyalty, child care, welfare)
Posted by Kickstart3 answers so far!
I skew classical liberal, so I tend to allocate as much as possible towards the individual. The government should only limit personal actions when they infringe on others; Basically the old saw about your right to swing your fist and the end of my nose. I’d also throw in controlling for externalities not covered by market forces, but those are a lot fewer and farther between than most people think - National defense, and maybe some Pigovian taxes on peeing in the common pool. Everything else belongs squarely under the purview of the individual.
Regardless, I can’t think of a good current example of a sufficiently limited government. Those damn things tend to expand to fill available space, and need to be cut back with a weed whacker as often as possible.
Having said all that, I do think that individuals have a personal responsibility to care for the downtrodden, but an impersonal governmental fiat is the worst possible method I can imagine to implement that. My family tithes to our local church to cover mission and other service work, as well as additional offerings of time and money to deserving charities. I personally walk the walk, but I wouldn’t dream of imposing my personal choices on someone else.
We just had a massive debate on the email list that I moderate about this subject, particularly healthcare.
I think the term “personal responsibility,” as it is used today, is the conservative buzzword for cutting out entitlement programs (i.e., the TANF act). Personally, I believe privatized programs work a lot better than our current government in some cases because the programs for getting people off welfare are either lacking or non-existent. If you’re poor or down and out, it’s “let them eat really bad spoiled slivers of cake.” If you’re lower middle class, above the poverty line but barely making it, you’re on your own. No cake. Not even day old dry cake without frosting. Work your ass off, don’t expect anything, but eat a shit sandwich and tell us you like it.
I’m in favor of taxes, and I think if we’re going to pay taxes to a common pool, the money should be spent toward common goals to better society as a whole. I think “common goals” can be decided with <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_meeting”.ltown meetings. I was appalled to find out that Illinois did not have town meetings when I moved there in the mid 1980’s. Where I grew up (New England) everyone knew you went to Town Meeting once a year and everyone got a say. Why and where did this system of personal involvement fall by the wayside?
Regarding personal responsibility, not everyone is clever enough to pick themselves up by their bootstraps, given their situations, especially as the American government and its benefits stand today. I am perfectly willing to contribute to a tax pool for:
- Education, including beyond high school, either vocational or a four year degree;
- National Healthcare, because it makes sense that sick people who have to lose all their assets cannot possibly be expected to contribute to society and it would take the burden off of corporations and small businesses to offer healthcare;
- A mandate decreeing that any government representative who has the authority to vote on minimum wage must accept that wage as their own;
- Infrastructure upkeep, meaning roads.;
- Police force;
- Court system, as long as judges are rotated every 2 years;
- Abolishment of the electoral college in favor of popular vote;
- The legal system being accessible to everyone, regardless of income;
- Arts and Science endowments decided by a third party non-governmental agency composed of a third each of people recognized by their peers from the Arts and Sciences and a general random pool of the public;
- Military defense but not offense and, of course, the Town Meeting system regarding foreign policy, because I’m not sure why we have more fingers than we can account for in that many pies;
- Exchange systems so we could understand people of other cultures;
- Anything else I’ve forgotten, like garbage pick-up, etc.
FWIF, I was a single mother who got herself off the govt welfare system, with a bit of help from my family, and got myself integrated into some of the highest echelons of our corporate society. And I found it lacking. So there’s your personal responsibility and I can heartily say fuck you to Reagan, et al, because while I was learning word processing as a head of household, I was also instructed to utilize my skills to do a resume for some guy who had no kids who was attending the vocational school. Fuck you, Ronald Reagan. Fuck you, anyone who thinks a head of household or displaced homemaker should learn typing as a job skill.
I only made it by my intelligence. You want to take the same circumstances, using the same 1980’s system and apply it to yourself, go ahead and try. Call me the “ate shit and didn’t like it” fairy.
BTW I make my living as writer and researcher, telling people how to avoid foreclosure (yuk), and I also invented some novelty products for sale in Hallmarks stores, but I’m not rich off of any of it (even more yuk). I just don’t like eating corporate shit, so I work at home and read Metafilter for my daily enjoyment. You all are great entertainment and wonderful, if somewhat quirky people, but there are many other real people at the other end of the wire, and I am one of them.
And now I am tired and cranky, so I’m going to bed. Have at it, BBQer’s.
I meant town meeting, der.