Right from the top, I’m going to say that I do tend to be occasionally opinionated (on most occasions, in fact.) I don’t really fit into any of the standard political parties. I think we should take care of the earth we’re living in, and feel that people are important and that we should be compassionate – but also think that government is too big. I think that healthy businesses make for well-paid workers, but also think that businesses need to be responsible about the things that they’re doing and look to more than JUST profit.
Saying that, I just thought I’d share some things that I think people should know about government. You don’t have to agree, in fact – if you don’t – great. I’m open to hearing new opinions and am always willing to evaluate my preconceptions about the role of government in society. I don’t do a great job of daily posting, but as I have time and when I think of it, I’ll add to the list.
Here is the number one thing I wish everybody understood about government:
- The Government Does Not Make Money. It may print money, it may distribute money, but the government does not make money. It’s not an industry. It produces no goods. There is nothing that it sells to collect income.
Someone said recently that they like it when a certain party is in office because that party provides more programs – and I had to just shake my head, because the mindset seems to be that when one party is in office the government suddenly makes more money. No, it doesn’t. This year the government will spend almost $1.5 TRILLION (that’s $1,500,000,000,000.00) more than they will collect, which is a good segue way to how the government gets money.
Government COLLECTS money. I work in the nonprofit industry. I don’t have anything that I can sell to make more money. When our church makes up a budget each year, we have to find the delicate balance between faith (“We believe that God is going to provide”) and stewardship (“This is what was provided in the past.”) We have to anticipate what the changing job market is going to do and trust that as people mature in their faith they will also support God’s work more. For us to increase our budget, we either need people to give more or we need more people to give. I can’t sell more widgets or introduce a new product line at an increased cost to increase revenue.
The government is similar. It collects money from taxpayers. The only way the government can get more money is to collect more taxes. They tax income, tax purchases, tax certain purchases more than others, tax you when you make money selling something, or when you gain interest on your investments, or when you die and leave money for those you care about. They can charge “fees” for not complying to their standards, make you pay to drive your car on an annual basis, and charge you for use of things by making you have a license to enjoy certain privileges. The government doesn’t have anything to sell, though, because the government is NOT a business. Government’s role is to govern, and governing has some implied expenses that are paid for through collection of money, which we call taxation.
Simple enough, right? It would be – except that people don’t seem to get it. They love programs but hate the costs. They think that we can keep adding programs, providing “free money” in bailouts, stimulate the economy by buying or giving large sums to banks, automobile manufacturers, and insurance companies and then also fund a war on two fronts, manage the infrastructure of our own country (police, roads, etc.), provide better education and add a health plan paid for by the government but not pay more taxes. That’s insanity! You can’t get it for free, the only way the government is going to have the money to pay for all the things that people are asking for is if they take it, through taxation, from the people they are providing the services for (or from those who aren’t receiving the services themselves so others can afford it, which is a topic for a different time.)
There is no free lunch, and government will collect money to pay for the services it is providing, if not now – they’ll collect it later, from our children. There are no “widgets” for sale.
