The American Family
Today our country is faced with a crisis that seems to make headlines every single day – How will America pull itself out of the massive debt that it has created for itself? How will our credit rating affect the way we run our fiscal policy? Should we increase taxes? Should we cut spending? Everyone seems to be of a different opinion on the subject. Perhaps before we so swiftly throw our two cents into the ring, we should look at our governmental problems in a different light. Meet the Americans.
The American’s are a family of six individuals living in a suburban community trying to make ends meet. They have some financial troubles at the moment – in fact things are so bleak that Mom has called a family meeting to resolve the issue at hand. Some neighbors have helped them in the past but it seems the American’s must work to solve their own financial woes now. Let’s start with a description of each member of the family…
Dan (Dad) – Dan makes most of the money in the family and he’s worked VERY hard in life to make it that way – in fact Dan makes exorbitant amounts of money that he likes to spend on fancy cars, new golf clubs, extravagant vacations (for himself) and other luxuries. As the primary breadwinner of the family he usually plays a pivotal role in making decisions concerning finance. If Mom ever asks Dan to help out around the house, he usually says that the money he brings in helps enough. He does occasionally give a small allowance to the rest of the family, but most of his income goes to himself.
Mary (Mom) – Mary is a busy homemaker. She does the laundry for the kids, ensures there is food on the table, and usually ends up having to resolve any conflicts that might arise with the neighbors. She spends most of her time looking out for all of her children (whether they deserve her attention and care or not). She is in charge of the finances, needs, and overall upkeep of the entire family. She gets most of her finances from her husband, but some of her children pitch in when they can as well.
Walter (Big Brother) – Walter works at a factory most days. He is the oldest of the family and probably the most responsible. He recognizes that the family’s situation has grown worse and so he has contributed a large portion of his earnings to helping the family come out of debt. He doesn’t live at home, so he also buys his own groceries and pays for his own expenses. He has managed to balance his budget and stay out of debt while living fairly comfortably.
Susan (Big Sister) – Susan was born with a condition that requires her to make regular visits to the hospital. She has tried to get a job to help support the family but because of her medical condition, she has been unable to hold one. Her medical bills consume a large percentage of the expenses around the house and she needs to be taken care of; however she gives a share of anything she can earn to her mother. She recognizes that she isn’t contributing much and feels awful about it, but she doesn’t have any other option available to her.
Michael (Little Brother) – Michael studied hard in school so he could support the family and especially his sister. He got a loan from Dan to go to school and when he graduated he started working full time for Dan. He will probably be able to pay off the loan eventually, but right now he is living on a VERY tight budget. He gives some of his earnings to Mary to help out around the house, and barely has enough left over for his own needs.
Jane (Little Sister) – Life has never been very kind to Jane. She has always excelled at making friends, crafts, sewing, and she’s rather smart when it comes to philosophy and religion. She didn’t do well in school when she was growing up because she was a little bit neglected as the youngest so now she can only get a job working in fast food. She has tried very hard to find other jobs, but has been unable to get one. She helps pay for some expenses around the house, but she herself is also in debt – unable to pay for her own expenses.
The home expenses are typical – groceries, gas, electricity, medical, car payments, etc. amounting in around $1,000.00 per month.
There are some trivial expenses like candy bars and sodas every month amounting in around $75.00 per month.
Total monthly incomes and contributions from family members are as follows…
Dad: $6,000.00 income/ $400.00 contribution
Mom: No income/ no contribution
Walter: $800.00 income/ $150.00 contribution
Susan: $100.00 income/ $30.00 contribution
Michael: $1000.00 income/ $175.00 contribution
Jane: $400.00 income/ $100.00 contribution
Total Monthly Expense: $1,075.00
Total Monthly Contributions: $855.00
So what do you do? What’s the solution? Do you as for more contributions from the children? Do you stop paying for groceries, gas, or medical bills?
This is just a smaller illustration of what is happening in our country today – the numbers may not all be accurate, but there are American citizens who work and manage to get by, but never without help from tax payer dollars. It’s easy for us to pick a side without thinking the issues through – it’s easy to say that the government needs to cut spending, but where? Sure there are some things that may not be necessary, but there are not enough of those things to make a drastic difference. Most of the governments expenditures every year go toward our military and keeping American’s (like Susan) healthy. Do you cut those things out?
There is a serious misconception in our country that our government just flushes money down the toilet. You may feel that way about medicare if you’re not on medicare. But someone may feel the same way about you putting your 6 kids through school on their tax dollars. Most government expenses are there for a reason. They weren’t just invented to throw money away, so before you start talking about “cutting spending” in general, please tell us where you would cut the spending!
You can probably infer from my example where I think the extra government revenue should be coming from (Dad/Wall Street), but that may not be the right answer either. I’m not sure what the answer is. My only intent for writing this is that you deeply consider the consequences of your chosen course of action before you choose it.
America has a problem – there’s no doubting it. It’s up to us – as Americans – as the government in a democratic republic – to solve it. We ARE the government. We ARE the ones spending and receiving the money. Every time you point a finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at you.
