I hear arguments for a flat tax rate and think that such a system would never work. Sure, you can ask a rich person to pay more taxes and they will probably be just fine, but I just can’t imagine the poorest of the poor suddenly being burdened with a tax bill that will cut into their food and gasoline budget. However, I belong to a faith that requires its members to pay a flat donation, regardless of income. It has made me wonder, why does a flat rate work in the one setting, but probably wouldn’t in the other? I have thought of a couple of things it could boil down to.
One, people in my church are relied upon to be generous with their donations above and beyond the flat tax rate. These other donations are given in the form of donations for the poor in their neighborhoods, donations to help our missionary efforts, donations to help build meeting houses, donations to help educate the poor of our faith in other countries, etc. Sure, you can be held in good standing in our faith by simply paying the flat rate, but many pay much more in the additional optional donations. As a country, if our tax rate were flat, I doubt that anyone would voluntarily pay a cent higher than what is required. Maybe it comes down to whether a person is forced to do something or if they are able to do it of their own free will.
The second could perhaps just be a matter of perspective. With taxes, we do everything we can not to pay them. And when we do pay them, we expect to receive something in return for them in the future. We pay income taxes, so that we can have new roads, be protected from our enemies, and generally have our country function. We pay social security, so that one day our kids will pay social security for us so that we can retire. We pay other taxes so that we can receive healthcare in our old age. Everything is paid with an eye to getting that money back in the future. The donations that we pay in my faith are viewed as paying back from what we have already received. We believe that everything we have was given to us from God, including our food, clothes, homes, the air we breathe, the sun that warms our face, even the very bodies we are walking around in. When you think of it that way, it really isn’t that hard to pay back a flat rate of what we have already received. Who wouldn’t give 1 dime back if someone gave him 10?
There are probably other reasons. Can you think of any?
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Entitlement Trap
I was able to go to a presentation and Q&A session tonight that was given by Richard and Linda Eyre, authors of The Entitlement Trap. It was a wonderful evening of insight and I thought I would write down some of my thoughts before I forget them.
1. Entitlement: This is the number one concern of most parents. They had statistics that approximately 80% of parents fear that their children will become entitled more than any other thing. Because this discussion was also given at BYU it had some religious tones to it and the authors argued that Satan’s plan was a plan of entitlement.
2. Ownership: The way to combat entitlement is to give children a sense of ownership. This ownership is given to children in several ways.
a. Strong Family Culture: This is developed through setting up easy to understand Family Laws that each member of the family must live by. They also suggest building a family Mantra that each member of the family should live by.
b. Stop being Managers and Start Being Consultants: This was a great way for me to think of this principle. Too often parents try to manage their kids in every way. Instead, we should try to become more of a consultant to them as they work things out for themselves.
c. Set up a Family Legal System: Rather than taking ownership in an argument between children, set up a family legal system ahead of time that everyone must live by. The authors, for example, had a repentance bench that the children had to sit on if they got in a fight until they could admit what they had done wrong and ask for forgiveness.
d. Set up a Family Bank: Rather than giving children an allowance, make them earn their money, learn how to spend it, save it, and give to charity. The authors go so far as to set up a family bank that their children can make deposits into after they have earned their money through chores. Then, they have family checks that they must use to purchase things. And their children must purchase everything for themselves through this system, including even their own clothes.
3. The power of Case Studies: The author is a Harvard alum, so he obviously loves case studies. However, I liked how he used case studies with his children. He would set up detailed, specific case studies that he would go over with his children and then at the end ask them what they would do in such a situation. Then, later in life when they are faced with a similar situation for real, they will better know how to react.
Those are the points I remember for now. I asked my friend for a copy of her notes, so if I forgot something when I get her notes I’ll add it later. One last thing that they suggested is a blog from one of their daughters that gets over 10k hits a day. Check it out here.
1. Entitlement: This is the number one concern of most parents. They had statistics that approximately 80% of parents fear that their children will become entitled more than any other thing. Because this discussion was also given at BYU it had some religious tones to it and the authors argued that Satan’s plan was a plan of entitlement.
2. Ownership: The way to combat entitlement is to give children a sense of ownership. This ownership is given to children in several ways.
a. Strong Family Culture: This is developed through setting up easy to understand Family Laws that each member of the family must live by. They also suggest building a family Mantra that each member of the family should live by.
b. Stop being Managers and Start Being Consultants: This was a great way for me to think of this principle. Too often parents try to manage their kids in every way. Instead, we should try to become more of a consultant to them as they work things out for themselves.
c. Set up a Family Legal System: Rather than taking ownership in an argument between children, set up a family legal system ahead of time that everyone must live by. The authors, for example, had a repentance bench that the children had to sit on if they got in a fight until they could admit what they had done wrong and ask for forgiveness.
d. Set up a Family Bank: Rather than giving children an allowance, make them earn their money, learn how to spend it, save it, and give to charity. The authors go so far as to set up a family bank that their children can make deposits into after they have earned their money through chores. Then, they have family checks that they must use to purchase things. And their children must purchase everything for themselves through this system, including even their own clothes.
3. The power of Case Studies: The author is a Harvard alum, so he obviously loves case studies. However, I liked how he used case studies with his children. He would set up detailed, specific case studies that he would go over with his children and then at the end ask them what they would do in such a situation. Then, later in life when they are faced with a similar situation for real, they will better know how to react.
Those are the points I remember for now. I asked my friend for a copy of her notes, so if I forgot something when I get her notes I’ll add it later. One last thing that they suggested is a blog from one of their daughters that gets over 10k hits a day. Check it out here.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
PIIGs Crisis Made Easy
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/23/sunday-review/an-overview-of-the-euro-crisis.html
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