Going Beyond One's Own Needs

Something is nagging at me based on some reading I did at a website dedicated to getting student loan debts forgiven. At Forgivestudentloandebt.com, one commenter wrote that he would do everything in his power to prevent the government from forgiving student loan debt. In all fairness, this person makes some valid and reasonable points before taking this hard nosed position.

The commenter made the point that asking the government to forgive student loans was a form of a financial burden on his business via taxes. Furthermore, he made the argument that people interested in this kind of government bailout had a sense of entitlement and that these would simply be taxes passed on to his children and grandchildren for little more than what amounted to "4 or 5 years of self-exploration and overspending".

It was some interesting, compelling perspective and admittedly part of me shares some of the spirit of what I believe the writer meant. I have a very hard time thinking that the decisions I have made and ultimately the mistakes I have made should somehow become someone else's problems or that others should have to bail me out. After all, they were my choices and choices have consequences. Despite the deep financial hole I am in and as much as I feel I really need help and would appreciate that help I can't help but feel the responsibility for how I got here.

BUT - this is where another part of my mind says, hold on - there are consequences to our choices right? Does this equally apply to everyone? Maybe I should look closer at this idea.

Let me start this new line of questioning by saying that the commenter apparently has made good decisions that have paid off for him. I am truly happy for him and his family. His dreams have been realized to some extent. That's wonderful! He isn't asking for a handout so why should he and his children have to help anyone else out? Right? That's a valid question.

While I agree with what this writer has to say I must take issue with the sentimentality and its shortsightedness. I have seen enough in my life to know that no one in life truly makes it anywhere or achieves anything without the assistance of others. At some point we all need some help. In fact, this simple understanding is so deep-seated in our society and we take it so serious that, as a country, we spend a large percentage of our current tax revenues in the United States on this ideal. So just what kind of help am I talking about and why would we do it? I will explain.

The kind of help I am referring to is the kind of help we lend to people blessed with children in our society. They are given elevated status above childless singles and couples. This status comes up every year they receive a tax break for each child that they have. And as a result, every person and couple without children pays a higher level of taxes to the IRS each and every year compared to their child-blessed counterparts. Why should this be so? Why is it fair to give preferential tax treatment to parents over childless singles and couples?

In addition, all homeowners must pay school taxes to their local school districts even if they don't have children, can't have children, or want to have children but can't have children because of other financial obligations (i.e., student loans).

So this begs the questions: why should childless singles and couples be asked to pay for the choices others have made to have children? Is this right? Is it fair to the childless?

My answer to all of this is that we all, at times must go beyond our present need and serve a larger, common good. Education serves that greater good in this example. Furthermore, perpetuation of our culture and our way of life through our children is also considered to be for the common good and is thus fundamentally important. But this commitment takes resources, significant time and money to achieve. We, all of us, support this commitment with tax incentives and spreading the burden around a larger tax base - to everyone, including those without children and those who own homes.

In short, most or all of us benefit from these share-the-burden type practices that have the greater good at heart. Sometimes we are the payers and sometimes we are the receivers. Sometimes we are both. But I hope I have shown, in an albeit crude and limited fashion, that it is longstanding practice to do what is right in this country and to help those in need, even when it may not sit right with some of us and it doesn't precisely meet our so called purist capitalistic ideals.

So to those who resist addressing the growing enslavement of some of America's good and decent minds through excessive student loan practices I say this: before you commit to doing everything in your power to oppose something that might ultimately benefit everyone - take a good look at your life and be thankful for what have you received because of the good graces of others. Maybe that tax break for your children or that public school education that you feel you are entitled too isn't such a sweet deal for someone else. And maybe that someone else, is someone struggling with $120,000 in student loans who is paying for your tax break and your child's education.