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Show How compelled charity causes inflation By Brent A. Anderson It almost seems like a disease, an incurable in-curable disease. No one likes it. No one can really cure it. Why can't someone get to its roots and kill it? Some people blame the unbalanced federal budget, i.e. spending more than they take in and financing the difference by borrowing from our fellow citizens. Our central banking system trys to stop this anger provoking increase in prices by decreasing the supply of money; which seems to increase interest rates, which reduces some business activity. In the midst of all the turmoil, one might ask : Is inflation really bad? If all prices and personal income raises approximately ap-proximately equal, is anyone hurt? Are politicians, for lack of a better cause, preaching anti-inflation sermons because we are all pretty "comfy" and pretty well off, and there is nothing worse to talk about? Is inflation really caused by all people fighting to get just a little more in order to buy everything they are used to buying? Perhaps if everyone relaxed and stopped wanting what they are accustomed or what they feel entitled to, inflation would cease. Can anyone really find what causes it and cure it? With all the intelligent, educated, experienced people in this country, why can't we cure our ills? Former Secretary of the Treasury, Michael Blumenthal, told a convention of 3,000 bankers recently, "No one fully understands the present situation. That includes all government officials making mak-ing policy. They are puzzled as you are when you open the paper in the morning..!" morn-ing..!" "The fact is, that no one private economists, bank economist none of the prognosticators really has been able to predict with any degree of accuracy ac-curacy the problems we got into.." (Parade, Dec. 23, 1979) I am a small businessman. I make and sell donuts for a profit. I pay state and federal income taxes on my net' profit of about thirty percent. If I didn't have to pay these taxes or if I cheated on my taxes, as many people do, I could lower my sales prices and still make the same after tax profit. Therefore, income in-come tax has a price raising or inflationary infla-tionary effect. However, if thirty cents of every dollar profit I make, is put to effective use so that it pulls its fair share; or in otherwords, if it produces thirty cents of value, then someone somewhere gets a thirty cent price reducing effect. Even though it raises my price because I, must pay it and my competitor com-petitor must pay it, providing it is used for things we really need, it will have a thjrity., cent vpr.i.ce..r.educjng ...effect somewhere in our economy. Some may say the thirty cents is lost when it is paid to our government and they use this to justify income tax cheating. No. The thirty cents was not destroyed after it was put in the hands of the bureaucrats, but if they did not get thirty cents of value, or benefit for our people, then it had the effect of raising rais-ing my sales prices for no value received receiv-ed anywhere. Herein lies the basis of our present uncontrolled inflationvalue infla-tionvalue given and only partial benefit received. Our government has grown to the point that it cannot efficiently effi-ciently administer certain benefits we, in good faith, pay for in the form of income in-come taxes. This is the basis of prices increasing so fast as to cause lost confidence, con-fidence, panic, greed, tax cheating, hatred between welfare recipients and government and between those that have and those that have not. Now, how do we stop and cure this problem? Much of the thirty cents I give contributes to our country's defense. Let's say twenty cents. Is this bringing , me twenty cents of benefit? I'm sure most agree it is very important that we are able to preserve our freedom. However, we must always search for ways to do this more efficiently. For example: ex-ample: should we be alarmed if an adversary like the Soviet Union spends more dollars on defense than we do, when what really counts is how effective effec-tive we use every dollar to defend our freedom. Much of our state and federal monies go toward people in the form of welfare, social security, employment security, health, and medical payments. Let's say ten cents of every dollar I earn goes to this kind of expenditure. Am I getting ten cents of value? (i.e. are some of my fellow countrymen receiving ten cents worth of beneifts from my ten cents contribution to people) I say to you, no. Because of the tremendous bite out of the ten cents which is consumed before it reaches the people. Some studies reveal the administrative ad-ministrative cost could be as high as seven cents of my original ten cents. What value do I or my countrymen receive from the seven cents? Would you answer that there is no way we can eliminate the cost of getting needed help to our people. Wrong. There is a way to cut out all the administrative cost so that mine and your ten cents, or fifteen or twenty cents, or whatever is spent on people, goes directly to the people. Then we would have exactly the same value received for what we contribute. If this could really be done wouldn't it be a wonderful thing for our country? Is it really within our abilities to initiate such a novel idea? Here is how it can be done. Over a period of time phase the portion por-tion of taxes that go toward people programs pro-grams out, and over the same period of time phase in a totally voluntary program pro-gram of charity. You see when people are not compelled by law they enjoy taking care of their poor, their sick, their mamed, uneducated, unemployed people. And when it is given from one person to another they receive it graciously. Both the giver and the receiver know that conditions can change quickly and their respective roles could change overnight. over-night. When we realize that it is no longer government's responsibility we begin to look at others with a new perspective. We begin to care about each other. Think how a post welfare recipient' 6W"ffer'iif,B?6ttetfh,r,vtate ""ffl'hV something useful to do and paid him for it. Can you vision the old prejudices, hate and laziness being melted away? Everyone has his own unique set of problems pro-blems and laws cannot get close to a persons emotions and background in order to solve each individuals problems. pro-blems. A real friend learns these problems pro-blems by living and working side by side with those he befriends, proving to him that he needs him. Our present system of compulsory charity breeds hatred between those who have and those who have not, and between government and recipient. Is it no wonder we have a sick economy, tax cheating, high unemployment, and unmotivated un-motivated welfare recipients. Here is how a voluntary system would be initiated. The President of the United States of America, after doing it himself, challenges the White House staff to find some person who has problems pro-blems and help him solve his problems. If he needs work, employ him in some manner and pay him out of their own pocket; if no other means is available. If he needs training train him. If he needs education educate him. If he needs food and shelter invite him into their home. If he needs respect and considerationgive con-siderationgive it. Then the President would ask every , Senator and Representative and challenge them to do likewise. And not , let them rest until they did it! Then the . President would challenge the whole nation to do likewise. Then he would legislate laws that would do away with welfare, employment security, social . security, medicare, medicaid, and all the rest. Then watch the people pull together. Watch the rate of inflation decline. Unrealistic? Over simplified? . It can happen with dynamic, visionary .. leadership. Once people see the good brought about by this kind of leadership, they will respond. As you can see from our present system, charity does not work when it's forced by law. Because of its " nature, cannot and never will. Chari- 1 ty by law is terribly expensive, extremely ex-tremely ineffective, divides our people, : and is the basis for our excessive inf la- , tion. This is how charity relates to infla- . tion. |