I’ve been trying to think more deeply about taxes and government spending, why we are taxed, what should be taxed, where should the tax money be spent, and so forth.
My life story totally affects my views from my childhood that influenced my path as an educator and then my life-long career in teaching where my paycheck was paid by the taxpayers and the children I taught received their services because of a government who regulated and financially provided for the human rights of children with disabilities through paying for their education and many services related to it.
In this context of life-long advocacy for children who would not have basic human rights without the intervention of government, it is complicated negotiating the thinking around the role of government on many other issues.
I like to go back to definitions at times because sometimes my understanding of a concept gets distorted, so I reviewed the following:
Democracy - a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections,
Capitalism - an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market, and
Culture - the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group.
These three elements complicate my understanding of the role of government in the United States when it comes to the common good, especially around disenfranchised populations…by the way, I consider children a disenfranchised population.
OK, this entry is all prompted by the threat of government funding being taken away from National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service.
My short answer: Based on what I see on capitalistic radio and television programming (and our culture’s materialistic traits), our children need public radio and television services…simply stated. Based on democracy and a government who represents the people, I think everyone wants a society where our children are influenced by ideas and concepts that promote responsible citizenship in a free society…Where in the media does that occur? A democratic government that funds pubic media is investing in cultural outcomes that will serve the people well.
