We, the People, and Our Deficit; T. F. Harris, Jr.

C riticizing the government's continuing failure to deal with the mounting federal budget deficit, New Hampshire Senator Warren Rudman announced in March that he would not seek re-election. The Senator held nearly everyone responsible for the budget grid lock: the Congress, the President, and-surpris ingly-even the American people. "What?" you ask. "How are we, the people, responsible?" The answer is simple: We, the people, love big government. Oh sure, we com plain about high taxes; and we are indignant whenever the government tells us to do some thing or not to do something; but we love being on the receiving end of government handouts and vote accordingly. At election time, politicians engage in a bid ding war in order to gain-if not affection or trust-votes. If one candidate promises a new interstate highway for his district, the other promises to move the headquarters of the Department of Transportation to the district. If one promises pie in the sky, the other adds a scoop of ice cream. When the auction gavel final ly comes down, the high bidder usually wins.

But government programs cost money; the government raises money through taxation; and no one likes taxes-just ask President Bush. The nation is in the midst of a Tax Revolt. In my own state of Alabama, countless attempts to raise property taxes have gone down in defeat when Mr. Harris is a student at Auburn University in Alabama. placed on the ballot. The mayor of one city faces possible recall because he reneged on one of those "no new taxes" pledges (he raised the old ones). And, in the state's largest city, Birming ham, a group called HELP (Help Everyone Live Proudly) was formed with the immediate goal of repealing a recent sales tax increase. Nationwide, voters are reacting in similar fashion. Jerry Brown's 13 percent flat tax-whatever its merits or flawsmight be-gained attention because peo ple believed it would lower their taxes. This is not to attack people for not wanting higher taxes-or indeed, wanting to repeal many of the old ones. Public disgust with taxation is jus tified. According to the Tax Foundation, Ameri cans work from January 1 to May 8 just to pay their taxes. This is not a misprint: Over one third of the year is spent in effective slavery.There can be no justification for this level of taxation, espe cially when considering that most of that tax money goes to finance someone else's "entitle ment." Whether it is farm subsidies or welfare or that sacred (and fat) cow, Social Security, most money is taken from one person's pocket in order to end up in someone else's. In the process, bureaucrats skim some funds off the top through transfer costs and just plain waste. Furthermore, ta~ation is coercion. We do not hand part of our income over to the IRS because we want to; never mind the IRS's prattling about "voluntary com pliance." We pay taxes under threat of penalties: fines and prison terms. It is perfectly reasonable for people to resist coercion; after all, it was just 432 such resistance that brought down Communism in Eastern Europe.

The answer to the budget deficit problem is not higher taxes. The deficit has continued to worsen even as taxes have gone up. The answer is to reduce Federal spending substantially. The American voting public must learn to curb its appetite for government programs and benefits. It is not unreasonable to expect people to live their lives without the "assistance" of govern ment's various agencies and policies. In fact, we got along quite well without them in the past. The arts flourished without the National Endowment for the Arts. Farmers raised crops and fed Amer ica (and much of the world) without farm subsi dies. Settlers traversed the entire North Ameri can continent without the Department of Transportation to pave the way. Children were taught to read and write long before the advent of mass public education, student loans, and the 433 Department of Education. People saved for retirement and lived their Golden Years without dependence on Social Security.

There is something to be said for individual ini tiative. People working together can accomplish great things without the government's help (or interference). One hundred years ago they raised barns; today, organizations build housing for the homeless. This volunteer work has proved much more effective than the government's ill-man aged shelters and counterproductive housing pol icy. By returning to "old-fashioned" self-reliance, America can do without the government's assort ed boondoggles. Then, spending can be cut and the budget deficit, which is soaking up credit and dragging down the economy, can at last be dealt with. The budget deficit is our fault. We, the Peo ple, must recognize this simple truth if the deficit is ever to be brought under control. D II FREEDOM DAILY Write or call us todayfor a free sampleof Freedom Daily plus "The Legacy of Leonard E. Read "by Jacob G.Hornberger (President,FFF) and ':A New World Order"

by RichardM. Ebeling (Ludwig von Mises Professorof Economics, HillsdaleCollege,and Academic Vice President,FFF ). The Future of Freedom Foundation P.O. Box 9752 • Dept. C Denver CO 80209 (303) 777-3588 • Half-Truths or Consequences by Gary Galles T he legitimate role of the American govern ment is small,at best. This followsfrom the plain wording of the Constitution with its grant of tax power only to promote the general welfare, its brief listof enumerated powers, its pro hibition against the taking of private property without just compensation, and its system of checks and balances. It also follows from simple logic.All creating a government does is to giveone group the power to force involuntary trades on others (although I "volunteer" to pay my taxes as a way to stay out of jail). It does not impart any additional intelligence or wisdom to "governors" in the process, but it does distort their incentives and diminish accountability for their actions. On what basis should we expect improved results?