The US democracy is an oddity.  Citizens, have the ability to vote ourselves “better off” through services, entitlements, and aide, yet thus far we have largely refrained from abusing this power.  While great in theory, should the incentive to take aid surpasses the incentive contribute to the economy (work), tax revenue will decrease, the corresponding ability to fund programs will shrink, and our government will ultimately collapse (go bankrupt).

Historically, our nation’s belief in capitalism and the supporting culture of resilient, productive, self-sufficient individuals, has preventing the abuse of government aid but an emerging belief that a primary function of the government is to provide for the people is threating our country – a very different sentiment than JFK’s famous challenge “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”.

The beauty of America is that we have the freedom to choose how we live, how much we want to work, and how much we risk, but with this freedom comes accountability.  The government cannot eliminate risk or accountability.  At best, it should be to ensure very little is irrecoverable - people must be accountable for the decisions they make.  From student loan forgiveness, to rent control, to welfare, programs cannot eliminate risk or responsibility for conscious decisions that people make and it cannot encourage people to be unproductive members of society.  A few stats for context:

  • Student loan forgiveness: A recent president campaigned to eliminate $10,000 of student loan debt per borrower with several Senators seeking up to $50,000 per borrower.  If applied to even half of the 45 million American’s with student debt, this could equate to between $225 billion dollars and $1.1 trillion dollars or 1/7th of the total FY21 budget.  This simply isn’t viable.  Expensive colleges with degrees which are unlikely to pay for themselves are not the only option.  As citizens, we must make responsible choices and be accountable for the choices we make.
  • Income support: The COVID pandemic was a scary time, but the three rounds of government aid often didn’t help those who needed it most (eligibility was determined by the previous year’s income, not existing employment), and benefits potentially created an incentive to remain unemployed.  According to The New York Times, “Workers in more than half of states will receive, on average, more in unemployment benefits than their normal salaries.”  The mix of  higher wages without work and a record number of open jobs, led to 25 states ending the extra unemployment benefits early.  Aid must encourage productive members of society
  • Medicare: Responsibility and accountability also applies to health.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, Medicare costs have increased from 2% of GDP in 1990 (~$107 billion) to 4% of GDP in 2019 (~$775 billion) due to longer lifespans, an increase in the population of those 65 and older, and increase in actual health costs.  Medicare is important, and a great service, but as people are living longer, Medicare recipients need to accept partial responsibility to stay healthy and keep costs in line.

Government aid is a critical safety net, but it should never serve as a primary source of support.  With few exceptions, we must push our politicians to limit government aid to those in need, keep it limited in nature, and ensure all aid incents productive, responsible members of the economy.

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