Is
it ethically proper for a government to tax those who work in order to give to
others who are less fortunate? Even if in theory it is morally correct for a
government to take one person’s earnings and donate it to others, should
entitlements be curtailed or eliminated since the U.S. is now approaching
bankruptcy?
Liberals
generally support ever-greater entitlement spending (think of the budget-busting
Obamacare program). They feel that a prosperous country such as the U.S. must
do more to help the unfortunates in its midst.
My
recently released book Uncommon Sense takes issue with this
approach. It advances the overarching Talmudic principle that the primary roles
of government are providing infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewers
and protecting its citizens. What it should NOT be doing, though, is interfering
with the personal morality of the citizens and distributing charity for them.
Accordingly,
a government should not be determining how much soda people may drink, who may
be in one’s bedroom, which museums advance the cause of culture and should
therefore be funded, and so forth. Politicians are elected to govern, not to
serve as the guiding moral beacons of the citizenry.
As
for charity, the Judeo-Christian tradition has always esteemed mercy and
charity when willingly extended with a generous heart. But people should not be
taxed against their will so that government charity can be given to causes
chosen by politicians. In a free country, people should have the right to
either not give charity at all or to donate exclusively to a favorite cause, be
it a hospital, church, symphony orchestra, or the Girl Scouts. [more...]
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