Screed: Self-Made Person

(If you like this preview, or don’t, read the whole screed here.

I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again. People who declare themselves “self made” are full of codswallop that tastes very similar to its cousin, “no government help.”

We are, none of us, self-made. We are a happy (hopefully) accident of genetics, environment and social influences. And of course, we all think ours are best. All those accomplishments? You owe them as much to your great-grandmother who walked from Independence, Mo., to Portland, Ore. in the 1800s.

People say they have never taken a penny from the government, so “why pay taxes?” Well, bozo, the road you drove on, the water you drank, the legal system that protects you and your contracts, the air traffic control system that insures your private jet arrives safely at Aspen, are all paid for by taxes. Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.

Comments

[Peggy Coquet]

May I post this - with attribution, of course - on Facebook?

I agree with you completely. What is "essential," in my opinion, is a fluid concept. When I first entered the telecom world, in 1970 or so, a wired landline was considered essential. Now we consider it an amusing relic. But a home without internet access is deprived of much of our culture, a way to pay bills, news from micro (community) to macro (world-wide), and educational materials for children and adults.

We could debate what is "essential," but we cannot deny that government provides it, for the most part, more reliably, equitably and conveniently than private industry.