Frank Watson: Responsible Government Requires an Incentive

Shortly after I was commissioned as a second lieutenant, my brother-in-law, Jim, approached me and said that I would be in charge of a lot of government money.

I told him that second lieutenants aren’t in charge of much of anything.

He replied, “Not now but eventually you will be, and when you are, I want you to treat each dollar as if it were the one I put in.” I promised I would and tried to keep my promise the rest of my military career.

Jim was not a rich man by any definition.

He owned a dump truck and hauled gravel for county roads.

He was, however, a tax payer and had a vested interest in how his tax money was spent.

During the 2012 campaign, Mitt Romney was overheard talking to some supporters during a fundraiser.

He said that 47 percent of American households pay no income tax and would vote for whatever candidate spent the most on social welfare.

He was sharply criticized by the press for being insensitive to the poor, but no one faulted the accuracy of his data.

I find this disturbing.

I discussed some current national issues with a small group of young adults the other day.

When I asked if they would support government sponsored health care the unanimous response was, “Sure as long as it doesn’t cost me anything.” I asked if they would contribute to a shelter for the homeless.

They responded, “That is the government’s job.” All of these individuals had entry level jobs but paid no income tax.

They didn’t care about government spending because it didn’t impact them.

Unlike my brother-in-law, they had no skin in the game.

Responsible government spending is an abstract concept to almost half of American voters.

This is not healthy for American society.

In a normal system of checks and balances the taxpayers/voters limit the political spending impulses.

But, when half the voters are non-taxpayers, the system breaks down.

There is no incentive for voters to limit spending when it is not their money.

President Trump has stated that he has a plan to erase the deficit in 10 years.

Not the debt.

There is no plan to repay the $20 trillion that we owe, but, hopefully, 10 years from now our government will spend no more than it takes in.

Most Washington insiders believe this plan to be unrealistically aggressive.

I think it is unacceptable.

We need to eliminate the deficit now and begin repaying our debt through a coordinated program of spending cuts and moderate tax increases.

We need to get everyone on board.

We need every American to have skin in the game.

The most logical solution is a tax structure that gives every voter an incentive to to keep government spending in check.

We need every American to be as concerned as my brother-in-law about how their tax dollars are spent.

(Frank Watson is a retired Air Force Colonel and a long time resident of Eastern Washington.

He has been a free lance columnist for over 18 years.)