Seeing the Forest for the Trees - by Hénock Gugsa

Seeing the Forest for the Trees
----------- Hénock Gugsa Call me a simpleton, if you want. But, at least I think I see the forest for the trees. We Americans have been so busy ragging on the Government that we have not noticed what else we have been doing to ourselves and to America.

Take the basic premise of a free economy (i.e. going back to Econ101)... we have 3 sectors (the Private, the Public, and Household) ... of these, the Private sector (Business) and Household are driven by self-interest ... the Public sector, which is Government, is a provider of essential services to both Business and Household. These services are of-course ones that cannot be provided fairly and equitably by Business, and Household is too splintered and unable.

Government needs taxes to perform all its duties, and its only motivation is to serve and not to make profit. So, the wailing and railing by Libertarians and/or "anarchists" is nothing but storm in a teapot. We can argue about the fairness of taxes, whether they are too regressive or progressive. But one basic truth stands undeniable. Somebody has to provide the services that Government performs today, and nobody can do them more responsibly than Government itself. These services don't come free, hence the necessity for taxes. The Private sector may claim that it can do the job cheaply and efficiently ... but responsibly, I don't think so! And what's more, we know business doesn't give anything away free anyways.

Consider also one important point ... Governments are generally outward-looking, while Business (the Private sector) is, by necessity, focused inwards. And in a truly democratic state, Government is not a self-serving body, which it would be if it were transformed into Business.

To be sure, the Private sector has no qualms whom it trades with, and there is no patriotic element in any of the transactions that are conducted. The country can be split up, parceled and sold out to any buyer as far as Business is concerned. Nationhood and/or "patriotism" is only good for one thing ... namely the establishment and maintenance of a military body to protect the interests of Business. Meanwhile, Household is cajoled and encouraged to cling to patriotism in order to maintain the myth of nationhood.

Business does not want to be taxed, but it does not mind if Government simply stayed in the shadows and left everything well enough alone. In like manner, Household does not want to be taxed either, although it wants all governmental services from A to Z. In a nutshell, Business and Household want Government to ensure that we have at least two official holidays, Christmas and Independence Day, and oh, ... one more thing ... could we just do away with the I.R.S altogether?

And so, finally, ... greed reigns supreme while social responsibility and national conscience become things of the past. Everything is for now, and hardly anyone cares for tomorrow. Borrow it or hawk it, it doesn't much matter anymore.

Those are the conclusions I have reached, and I sincerely apologize if they do not agree with yours.