How
much of the differences in philosophy between left and right can be
defined on the standard bell shaped curve. I am a firm believer in
the fact that both left and right want the same things, we want the
same results, it's in how to get those results that we differ. It's
in where we stand on the Bell Curve.
Let's
take a look at some of the major issues of the day:
Taxes.
The left is much more willing to pay higher taxes for perceived
government benefits. The right would just as soon primarily care for
themselves and get the government out, or at least to the background,
of the picture.
Enter
the Laffer Curve. This classic economic model Bell
Curve suggests that, as taxes increase from low levels, tax revenue
collected by the government also increases (rising slope of the
curve)-- up to a point. At that point (the top of the curve)
additional taxes bring in less
money to the government. Taxes at a certain higher rate would cause
people not to work as hard, or not at all, thereby reducing tax
revenue (descending slope of the curve). Eventually, if tax rates
reached 100% (the far right of the curve), then all people would
choose not to work because everything they earned would go to the
government.
This is the argument against forced economic distribution. So,
politically we find the right on the left side of the curve, and the
left on the right side (Still with me?).
Minimum wage. The
more a thing costs, the less of it is bought is an economic fact .
So the more labor costs, the less of it is bought. On the upside of
the curve we have the low skilled, entry worker who is providing a
service commensurate with his/her pay. There are jobs available on
this side of the curve where the work provided equals the wages paid.
(win/win for both worker and employer). As we top the curve the
worker now begins receiving more money than he/she is worth to the
organization. (win for worker, loss for employer). Since the more a
thing costs the less is bought, less low skilled, entry worker labor
is bought because the work is not worth the pay to the employer.
Immigration.
The US brings in low/no skilled workers to do the jobs Americas
will not do. For awhile the country can provide jobs and absorb
benefits. (upside of the curve). When too many people come over the
border, we begin our slide down the far side of the curve. We now
have too many people looking for work in a country with unusually
high unemployment and requiring financial outlay in a country with a
$17 T debt.
Welfare.
There is point on the curve where we are providing help to those who
really need it, then we reach a point where we are providing help to
those who just want it. A truly moral country will commit itself to
caring for those of its citizens who truly cannot care for
themselves. This financial assistance will provide the needy with
what they need to get back on their feet, enhance their self-esteem
and begin caring for themselves. Random across the board “help”
brings us down the back slope of the curve, and we are providing the
grease for entire generations of families to live forever on the
backside of the curve.
I'm
going to give our government the benefit of the doubt in believing
they are trying to do the right thing, but there is a line where,
when crossed, the right thing become the wrong thing. The left and
right in this country are engaged in a monster tug-o-war, each side
trying to pull the other over the line. What we should be doing is
working together to find the “line,” the crest of the Bell Curve,
that will maximize the benefits for us all, not just those with the
money and/or votes.
We
can only wish.....
