The common good
To the Editor:
America’s success depends on promoting the common good. But what is the common good? Something shared from which we all benefit. Right now, the dominant argument seems to be that we all benefit when we maximize our freedom to compete with each other, to do what we think is best for ourselves. In pitting individual against individual, winners are seen as superior to those they defeat. Losers deserve our pity but little else. There is no common good here, just a battleground littered with the vanquished.
One way we know this system fails to promote the common good is the great inequality it creates. The rich will always be with us, and it is unfair to criticize those who amass fortunes. As long as those who gain great wealth pay their fair share in taxes and use their money to create well-paid jobs, they are contributing to the common good and deserve our respect. Sadly, there is strong evidence this is not what’s happening. To take one example, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet have so benefitted from a tax system that favors the wealthy that their fortunes together total more than the combined wealth of half our citizens. Even as their wealth soars, 40% of our fellow Americans can’t pay for a $400 emergency with cash or credit card; they are one medical bill away from destitution. It’s no surprise that 25% of Americans in 2018 skipped necessary medical care; they couldn’t afford it. Please keep in mind that these people were working, often multiple jobs.
Such striking inequalities threaten the common good by undermining the principle of inclusive fairness. Inclusive fairness does not mean that everyone is equal economically. It does mean that all Americans have equal chances of living lives they value. Meeting that basic human need requires that all have access to good schools, fair wages and quality medical care. Those are crucial parts of a common good to which we collectively contribute through our taxes. The more wealth that is hoarded by a few who avoid paying their fair share, the less the rest of us have to fund the common good. Standing up for inclusive fairness is not the work of Republicans or Democrats, it is our shared responsibility as Americans. We owe it to each other.
Ed Schortman
Gambier
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