The Cost of Things – Dialectic Two-Step
To those complaining about the cost of accepting Syrian refugees and how it will impact the poor and under served here in the US – It’s not about the money. It’s about how we choose to spend it.
The wealth of the world is concentrated in the west. In the US, we’re swimming in it.
But generally we’re oblivious of this fact. In the most peaceful and prosperous time in all of history we bicker about closing the gap in healthcare, because it would cost too much money. We complain about welfare and vote for politicians that feel we don’t need to fund the VA system.
We’ve been spending the last 8 years fighting over renewable energy. Better to drill baby drill than find cleaner and more sustainable energy resources. Where does all that money we saved by doing nothing go to? Into the hands of the Koch brothers, Haliburton, and the Massey Energy who in turn destroy the environment, risk workers lives, pocket huge profits, and hoard wealth.
I’m not saying we’re innocent victims here either. Spending money is how we make choices. Here’s what it tells us about ourselves. We complain about teacher’s salaries and we worship the ultra-wealthy. We put our trust in Hollywood actors, but won’t support political parties and candidates with integrity. We live in a country where everyone knows what the word McMansion means, but thinks that paying people a living wage is putting too much burden on business.
I saw my first Lamborghini when I was in my twenties when I traveled to Newport Rhode Island. They were rare. Now there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t see a Ferrari, an Aston Martin, or a Maserati.
We’ve got the money to take care of our vets, our poor, and our homeless. We’ve just made the choice not to invest in those things.
This isn’t something new. This natural tendency to be focused on ourselves is the basis for our current system of economics. Free market theory relies on the fact that people will always look out for their own best interest. When they do, the reasoning goes, markets will be optimized and generally turn out the best allocations of resources.
However, there has always been a weak spot in this model. That weak spot is the public good. A public good is an interest which is not optimized by a free market. The best examples are defense and foreign relations. People rarely come together spontaneously and effectively to defend themselves as a group or community. If we apply selfish interests in this endeavor, we’ll naturally prefer to have our neighbor risk their life in our defense, but not necessarily the other way around. It’s a conflict.
We can look at taking in Syrian refuges in this way. As individuals, communities, or even states, it does not appear to be in our interests to take in Syrian refugees. It costs money, it seems as though it would decrease security, and refugees will add to the pool competing for resources and jobs.
But what are the goods associated with taking them in? History has shown that it’s a winning bet. This country has grown strong by capitalizing on a steady stream of immigrants from all over the world. It’s also very likely that as the world’s most powerful economic and military superpower, how we are perceived is important. Considering how much we leverage our strength to force other nations to conform to our wishes, showing some good will, compassion, and generosity seems critical to balance our image. Being a target of terrorism is not a function of how kind we’ve been. It’s because our policies in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America often have significant negative consequences.
True we supply those countries with plenty of money for their troubles, but cash rarely soothes the wounds of oppression meted out by governments propped up by our dollars and arms. Consider the ire that we direct at the fat cats of Wall Street for crushing our economy and uprooting the lives of millions of America. Compare it to the anger of a Palestinian whose home has been torn down by an Israeli bulldozer. Imagine the resentment of an Iranian family who lost loves ones under the rule of the Shah. Consider Iraqi ambivalence to their American liberators after the flow of American dollars helped keep Saddam Hussein in power. Imagine Afghans hearing about America’s great recession, when they subsist on an average annual income of $4000. The average US income is $50,500.
Yes here in the US, we have problems to solve and not enough resources or will to solve them all. But we should put them in perspective, lest we persist in feeding our rightfully earned title of global whiners. We should apply a little wisdom in where we choose to invest our resources, how we consider what’s truly in our interests, and how we maintain relationships with the others sharing this small blue planet of ours.
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Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio
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