Poll sums it up
By
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To the editor: I found a poll in the September 19th Newsweek interesting because it pretty much summed up the problem our country faces, how we got where we are and identifies who is ultimately responsible.
According to the poll 91% of Americans believe that we, as a country, have failed to address our nations problems. but, when asked if they would be willing to pay higher taxes if it would fix the problems:
Only 26% would pay higher taxes to fix bad roads and other infrastructure.
Only 20% would pay higher taxes to fix failing schools.
Only 20% would pay higher taxes to provide affordable health care.
Only 15% would pay higher taxes to fight crime rate.
Only 14% would pay higher taxes to end high unemployment.
Only 12% would pay higher taxes to solve environmental problems.
Summing it up, the general population likes to complain about the government not addressing the nations problems but is unwilling to pay for actually doing anything about them.
To an extent, Americans have always been more eager to complain than to dig into their pockets but have historically come around when necessary until the great communicator gave them the ultimate excuse for opting out. Hard to believe but there was a time when Americans actually paid higher taxes for wars and fought only wars that needed to be fought instead of waging needless wars that cost trillions and passing the cost on to future generations.
Hard to believe but there was a time when Americans paid for soldiers returning from wars to go to college instead of having many of them wind up jobless and homeless. Hard to believe but during the time when Eisenhower was building the interstate highway system tax rate on upper income Americans was 90%, or three times what it is today when they are demanding a reduction and the system is crumbling. Hard to believe but there was a time when so called "Job Creators" invested in America instead of setting of over two trillion on cash, enough to pay all the long term unemployed $50,000 a year for over three years, instead of demanding tax breaks.
By identifying government as the problem, and never the solution, Ronald Reagan gave Americans something to pound on like a pinata instead of accepting responsibilities of citizenship.
This targeting of the only institution that gave power to the people has created a government that is generally alined with big money interests against the best interests of the general population and in effect is more and more the problem.
A third of a century of the people electing representatives who believed government is the problem, and who once in office do their best to prove it, has actually brought us to the point at which all hope of having a government of for and by the people may be extinguished in the next election and we may find ourselves firmly in the hands of representatives and a Supreme Court who believe that the people are the problem and need to be controlled.
If we the people want a government that works and actually addresses the nations problems we need to do two things:
1. Start electing representatives who believe government can solve problems and who once in office want to prove it.
2. Be willing to pay to fix problems or shut up about them.
Sincerely,
Charles Leach
Lynchburg[[In-content Ad]]
According to the poll 91% of Americans believe that we, as a country, have failed to address our nations problems. but, when asked if they would be willing to pay higher taxes if it would fix the problems:
Only 26% would pay higher taxes to fix bad roads and other infrastructure.
Only 20% would pay higher taxes to fix failing schools.
Only 20% would pay higher taxes to provide affordable health care.
Only 15% would pay higher taxes to fight crime rate.
Only 14% would pay higher taxes to end high unemployment.
Only 12% would pay higher taxes to solve environmental problems.
Summing it up, the general population likes to complain about the government not addressing the nations problems but is unwilling to pay for actually doing anything about them.
To an extent, Americans have always been more eager to complain than to dig into their pockets but have historically come around when necessary until the great communicator gave them the ultimate excuse for opting out. Hard to believe but there was a time when Americans actually paid higher taxes for wars and fought only wars that needed to be fought instead of waging needless wars that cost trillions and passing the cost on to future generations.
Hard to believe but there was a time when Americans paid for soldiers returning from wars to go to college instead of having many of them wind up jobless and homeless. Hard to believe but during the time when Eisenhower was building the interstate highway system tax rate on upper income Americans was 90%, or three times what it is today when they are demanding a reduction and the system is crumbling. Hard to believe but there was a time when so called "Job Creators" invested in America instead of setting of over two trillion on cash, enough to pay all the long term unemployed $50,000 a year for over three years, instead of demanding tax breaks.
By identifying government as the problem, and never the solution, Ronald Reagan gave Americans something to pound on like a pinata instead of accepting responsibilities of citizenship.
This targeting of the only institution that gave power to the people has created a government that is generally alined with big money interests against the best interests of the general population and in effect is more and more the problem.
A third of a century of the people electing representatives who believed government is the problem, and who once in office do their best to prove it, has actually brought us to the point at which all hope of having a government of for and by the people may be extinguished in the next election and we may find ourselves firmly in the hands of representatives and a Supreme Court who believe that the people are the problem and need to be controlled.
If we the people want a government that works and actually addresses the nations problems we need to do two things:
1. Start electing representatives who believe government can solve problems and who once in office want to prove it.
2. Be willing to pay to fix problems or shut up about them.
Sincerely,
Charles Leach
Lynchburg[[In-content Ad]]