For our first freedom blog, let’s address the power of choice. In my opinion, this is the foundation of freedom. My biggest concern with people’s infatuation with government involvement is that it first and foremost, eliminates the power of choice AND doesn’t hold anyone accountable for their actions.
I live in Nashville, TN where the city just had a vote about implementing a $9,000,000,000 mass transit bill that would have taken 14 years to complete (Or so they said and as you know, the government is never as efficient as they project so it would probably have taken more like 16-18 years or more and cost more like $12,000,000,000-$15,000,000,000) and raise certain taxes. Fortunately, the bill failed. I’m happy not because I don’t want a better method of transportation in my city, I’m glad because the bill would have eliminated choice from people and here is how, this bill would have raised sales taxes, and other taxes, in Nashville until the year 2068. Let me repeat that in case you think it’s a typo, 2068 of increased sales tax to the highest sales tax of any major city in the United States. Well, as someone that will not be using the transit system a whole lot (I realize that I may use it more than I expect, but with the exception of visiting New York City, I’ve hitchhiked more than ridden public transportation because it’s more efficient), an additional 1.5% tax on EVERYTHING I purchase for 50 years seems a little unfair because now I don’t have a choice in paying for this deal or not. I would have a choice of using the system but I have to pay for it’s construction, and then to use it, I have to pay for it again. Seems like nonsense to me because basically what is happening, is that the powers that be (The government) wants to FORCE me to pay more money for EVERYTHING I buy, whether essential or non-essential, so that they can build this system and then charge me to use it.
I realize there is a traffic problem in Nashville and everyone wants something to be done about it. But why with the government is it always adding new taxes and programs? Why not incentivize people to not drive as much. For example, if the state said they would lower property taxes for married couples/multiple owners that only have one car in the household, I would consider selling one of our cars and sharing just one car. What if the city said they would lower taxes for businesses that have a certain percentage of employees work from home? Seems like a simple yet smart and a win-win situation for both employees and employers.
The magic of the above thought (Tax example) is that we now have a choice, pay more or pay less. Granted, the goal of tax rates in my opinion is to get close to zero but, instead if we steer people in the direction by helping instead of hurting them, who knows what would happen. This is after all how the United States became a world power and is why bonuses work so well for sales people and employees. They can choose to work harder and earn more money or not to. But again, with taxes, there is no incentive to be better, there is not choice about whether to buy something or not, it is a FORCED hit on your wallet and life.
If I go to a store and I don’t like the customer service (Similar to the DMV) I’ll stop going there and go somewhere else (Even though with the DMV, I have to go there if I want to drive). If everything I buy is subject to a tax, it doesn’t matter where I go I will have to pay for that tax, which is bullshit and Un-American!
Rory