Our freedoms are far more limited by the oppressive practices of corporations like Wal-Mart than they are by the money we pay in taxes. Americans already pay far lower taxes than anyone in Western Europe. Republicans like to block movements for universal health care by suggesting it will somehow limit our freedom to choose. For millions of Americans without health insurance, their freedom would actually be broadened by such an increase in government spending. They could actually choose to receive treatment without being forced into poverty.
Health care is the most prominent example, but there are countless others.
Well designed social service programs would give people in poverty the freedom to live their lives. So the next time a politician proposes to get your money out of Washington, keep in mind that the money that does go to Washington does not completely disappear into a sinkhole. Crooked and inappropriate as politicians use of your money may be, and I grant you it is, you are still better off sending your money there than to Coca-Cola. Ben Godar is a senior in sociology from Ames. Copyright 2000 by the Iowa State Daily Publications Board.