When you see crap like this posted on your Facebook page, you’re seeing propaganda at its worst. The current right wing theory is that “we” all have a good work ethic, and “they” are too lazy to work, so “we” have to support them with high taxes.
The Other Half Isn’t Half
Of course, the biggest lie in the whole thing is that it’s a half-and-half situation. There is a very small number of the filthy rich at the top of the economic ladder that make obscene amounts of money. There is a similar-sized group at the bottom of the social scale who cannot support themselves, and the government supports them with handouts and services. All the rest of us are in the middle, working for most of what we get.
Everybody pays some sort of taxes, and everybody receives some benefits from the government in return. It stands to reason that there is a balance point in the middle where one person pays just slightly more in taxes than the total benefits he or she receives. One step down is someone who pays slightly less than his or her total needs.
I don’t have the data for Canada, but in the US, that dividing line is somewhere above $200,000 a year. Anybody who makes less than that is a “taker.” The bottom 75% of American taxpayers pay about 20% of their government’s tax income.
The ironic thing about it is that a large number of the people who espouse these theories are in the “take” half of the taxpayers.
The Poor Aren’t Lazy
The working poor are certainly not lazy. In fact, many of them get such low pay that they have to work several jobs. Face it. They’re working harder than you. And they didn’t get there on purpose. They have poorer education, poorer opportunities, and poorer upbringing.
The Destitute Don’t Stay There.
While the “poor stay poor” is a pretty well accepted fact, there’s another statistic that I was surprised to discover. The truly destitute, the ones that are living on government handouts, are a different matter. Except for a few mentally ill and addicted patients, most people who are destitute have dipped to that low because of a combination of negative events, and soon pull themselves back out. They aren’t there because it’s the easy way out; they’re trying to cure the problem, and the majority of them do. Out the window goes your “they’re just lazy” myth. Any of those people could be you at any time.
The Poor in Other Countries
If you ever get the chance to travel to a poor country, take a look at how the people live.
Walk the streets of Hanoi or Phnom Penh. You’ve never seen such active, purposeful people. You have to remind yourself that these people work today in order to eat tonight. They take no days off. If they’re sick, they and their families don’t eat. Keep that in mind when you wonder how those countries will handle COVID.
It’s a different case in the Caribbean islands. You walk down the street there, and you will see large numbers of men just sitting and staring into space. The economy all seems run by the women, who are well dressed and busy. All those guys are dressed in shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops, and they’re completely inert. I remember travelling in a minivan in St. Lucia. We stopped at a light, and I glanced out the window. There, not a metre away from me, was the face of a man, sitting on a street-level patio. He was staring straight ahead, just over my left shoulder, as if I wasn’t even there. It was rather unnerving. Whether these men are stoned, drunk, or just in clinical depression, I don’t know. But I doubt if they’re happy about their lives.
Where Does Your Work Ethic Come From?
We certainly hear enough people bragging about their work ethic, as if it’s something they earned. Face it. You didn’t sit down one day and say, “I’m going to be a good worker.” No, you were taught your work ethic through observing your parents and your elders. Having a work ethic isn’t a virtue. It’s a gift. One of the hardest things for adults to do is to develop a work ethic when they didn’t have one trained into them as children.
The Bottom Line
So just remember, if you make less than $200,000 per year, your taxes don’t pay for everything you get from the government. You’re one of those “takers” you keep complaining about.
While there’s nothing wrong with being proud about your drive and self-sufficiency, just remember that the majority of us are not totally paying our way, and that we’re depending on the work of a lot of other people to enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world.
Also remember that the right-wing leaders are quite happy to see folks at the bottom of the ladder pointing fingers at other folks nearby, ignoring the people who are really winning the race.