What is wrong with paying our way?

Most do it because they have to. Now some governments have tried other ways, mostly by borrowing or exploiting corruption and local assets, bribes if you will sometime. And these governments pretty much run the gammed from 1st world democracies to 3rd world dictatorships.

Now the theories abound, mostly advanced by highly educated people who we humans say are highly educated. Now one old joke comes to mind…ask three PhD’s a question and you’ll get at least four answers. Another idea of “an educated fool” also comes to mind.

There is so much discussion about what is best for our human world. That’s the good news. The bad news is that much still seems to be missing to many of us. I call it the human factor. Simply said, tell me or teach me how you think we humans will react, or more likely, will act. In the best case, suggest an answer to “what is important to humans”?

Now I will suggest one answer. Happiness is good health and self respect. Many can apply this idea universally. And most seek happiness.

Now here in the USA for decades now much has been promoted by the two national political parties. The main common promotion, to me, has been to throw tax money at problems, as if money will solve human problems, and the amount of money was the report card. The thing that always bothered me was whether my definition of happiness counted at all. Now being an engineer at heart, I could even round it down to ideas like “results”. Did it make our human condition in our new world in the USA better?

I have seen about three main ideas compete over the last few decades in the USA.

One perennial repeat in ideas is capitalism. Now to me it has shown to be a good way to accommodate human factors with happiness for all.

Another is to just recognize our humanity. As I read history, even in World War II, we had to have USA war bond drives to help get us Americans to loan our government our money that would prosecute a war that was obviously to our benefit.

The last is another variation of our humanity circa these days. What happens if fellow humans won’t loan us enough money for what our elected and even dictatorial politicians want to do? One obvious alternative is that we will live within our means, which are substantial after all.

Now the reason I ask is simple. If one were to loan, for example, $10 billion and expect to get $1 billion back in interest after 10 years, that sounds good. But if the same lender thinks the same original $10 billion after inflation will only be worth $5 billion at the end of the 10 year loan, then “the times will be changing”. Humans will act.

Now last, things seem simpler if we just live within our means without going through terrible situations like default, or just not being able to get enough humans to loan us money. The present taxes we humans pay in the USA (at all levels) are substantial, and provide many good benefits. There is a good reason for governments…just use roads as an example.

And the more recent political method of “crises” to govern is so silly to so many Americans who will act for their human benefit in their famiy and their life. If they can plan ahead and anticipate, why can’t their elected politicians? There are other alternatives that humans from the past have used…like plan ahead. That method has been used, and worked, as an example the idea of a rainy day fund comes to mind.

Now most have children, and some have grandchildren, and want the best for them.