Articles

The rich owe all of us, just as we owe them

Opinion by Harris Green
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jan. 4, 2006

The Bush administration rhapsodizes about the economic paradise awaiting us through tax reform. In addition, we are told, it is only fair that taxpayers keep more of "their money." The administration's loyal supporters also berate the poor for having an "entitlement mentality." In other words, the rich should get more and the poor should get less.

The defenders of the Bush position say that the rich earn what they get. But is that truly the case? Exactly to what extent does anyone actually "earn" what he or she gets?

I maintain that every American citizen has an equal share in the economic heritage of the United States. This heritage includes all of our natural resources, including the land, air and water. It includes cultural heritage and all of the labor exerted by all of the workers throughout our history. It includes the genius of businessmen, scientists, engineers, educators and clergy who molded these resources and labor into a civilization that is the envy of the world. It includes a military that has kept us free from foreign invasion.

Does this mean that all of us should have the same income? No. It only means that every one of us profits from resources that belong to all of us. What it means is that whatever the rich receive, it is not due entirely to their own talent and effort, as many would have us believe.

They owe their parents. They owe the teachers and counselors and clergy who taught them and civilized them. They owe the farmers and truckers and grocery store workers who put food on their tables, and the firefighters and police officers and emergency medical technicians who protected them from harm or further harm. The list of people they owe is endless. Therefore, whatever success they achieve in life is due mostly to the talents and efforts of a legion of people.

In light of this, when the CEO or movie star or super athlete or entrepreneur sits down with his or her accountant, I wish they would honestly consider how much they owe their success to their fellow citizens before computing their taxes. "Has Miss Arnold been paid enough for teaching me how to read and write and to recite the Pledge of Allegiance? Now that she is old, is she getting good health care? What about Mr. Reuben, the shopkeeper who gave me my first job and taught me how to be a responsible employee? Is he comfortable in retirement? And then there's old Mr. Reynolds at the YMCA, who spent hours teaching me how to swim. He never had any children of his own. Now that he's gone, is his wife being cared for?

This exercise should also be followed by the rest of us as well because all of us have a debt to pay for the benefit we derive from our economic heritage, the richest in the world.

Harris Green is a writer living in Big Canoe.

Copyright 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more information: www.ajc.com.

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