The Government Must Pay For A Civilized Society

Dialogue: “All person held as slaves within any state … shall be then … forever

Douglass tells the reader, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man” (1211). As simple as this statement may seem, it is absolutely dripping with meaning, and it would not be a great

In comparing and contrasting the governmental philosophies of the great thinkers Lao-Tzu and Machiavelli, I have found a pleasant mix of both of their ideas would be the best for America today. Lao-Tzu’s laisse-faire attitude towards the economy, as well as his small scale military is appealing to my liberal side, while Machiavelli’s attitude towards miserliness which causes low taxes appeals to the right wing. These great thinkers contradict the popular saying “all great thinkers think alike.” They have several ideas, such as taxes, that are the same, while other ideas, like the involvement of government in citizens' everyday lives are totally opposite. I shall start with

"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you will now see how a slave was made a man." –Frederick Douglass

“Enslaved African Americans had almost no rights or even hope for liberty. After being brought to America in chains”(DN-Life in the Colonies). This quote alone

I think it would be great if the government could help the poor and create equality, however, I think poverty is inevitable. Also, if the government were to establish welfare systems, that would lead to the loss of human

" Tubman knows it is hard and she wants to go back too. She knows what is on the other side, when they get to cannada, the slaves dont, thats why she keeps pushing

By requiring people on welfare to work, and assisting them to get low-paying jobs if nothing else, the state and local governments give the people incentive to get better paying jobs and keep them. I read an article once that showed the correlation between government-assisted welfare workers and full-time permanent employment of those same workers later. I firmly believe that people will help and support themselves if given a decent chance. This country is founded on the idea of self-sufficiency. We are taught this in the public schools from the first day. We are trained not to cheat, not to steal answers from another person's paper, and not to depend on others to do our work for us. It seems to be an innate human quality that people want to rely on upon themselves and achieve goals on their own. When people who are down on their luck are given a helping hand, often they will move from

Helping those partaking in the programs has come at a cost to our country. We have accumulated a colossal amount of debt. This is due to many different things one of which is governmental spending on assistance

Welfare is a program in the United States that provides economic support to citizens who are unemployed or underemployed. This program was started during the 1930’s to help out the millions of people who were affected by the great depression. By the 1960’s the welfare program was not being used the same and many believed it was being misused. The welfare program in the United States should be abolished because it costs more than it helps, it is a waste of money, it is abused, and because it teaches bad work ethics.

One person might say that anarchy would be the only way to have complete and utter freedom, while others would go as far as to believe a controlled communist government is the best route to achieving liberation. Factions (a group of people who agree on certain topics) are inevitable, due to the nature of man. As long as men hold different opinions, have different amounts of wealth, and own different amount of property, they will continue to fraternize with people who are most similar to them. In Federalist #10, James Madison summed up factions

³There are two things I¹ve got a right to, and these are death and liberty. One or the other I mean to have.² (Tubman p.39) Harriet escaped from the plantation with her brother. A few hours into the trip Harriet¹s brother got scared of being captured, so Harriet and him had to return. The next night Harriet fled alone into the forest. She was given food and shelter by many whites and blacks against slavery, along the Underground Railroad. When she finally did reach Philadelphia, the free-land, Harriet said, ³I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person now I was free. There was such a glory over everything...I felt like I was in heaven. (Tubman p.46) 5 It didn¹t take long for Harriet to realize that the north wasn¹t so ³heavenly² after all. Harrie!

Furthermore too much government involvement could lead to people depending on the government for money instead of getting a job. This is very true today for people who get health care and other things. They think that they can take more and more money

John Adams once said, “Fear is the foundation of most governments.” Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Karl Marx all grew up in a time of war and witnessed the same events that caused them to create their idea of government. Hobbes learned that people are naturally wicked, Locke learned that people all had natural rights. Karl Marx thought that the social order did not matter. All of them concluded that their governmental plan was the most reliable form of governing. They all had great ideas for government, but John Locke’s ideas would best fit today’s societies, and would best fit in with Adam’s Smith’s ideas.

The federal and state governments provide the American citizens with all of the basic necessities within our communities and society that is taken for granted. Programs responsible for assistance in times of need, providing a quality standard of living, and maintaining the strongest military in the world costs incomprehensible amounts of money and could never exist without taxes from the American people. Taxes are payments made by individuals and businesses to support the government and its services. The constitution grants that congress “shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises and to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the people”. Taxes paid by Americans redistribute