Saturday, January 23, 2010

Being safe

I was reading some statements from a politician who is more right-wing than I'm comfortable with, and I found myself whimpering at the screen "But I just want to be safe!"

The policies being described would make people have to struggle to earn a living where now we merely have to work. They'd make aspects of life that are currently effortless somewhat difficult, and/or hinder work that is currently being done to make difficult aspects of life easier. Similar political opinions often want to weaken the safety net that will catch us if we fall, making it easier to end up in grinding poverty and harder to climb back out. That makes me feel less and less safe.

What makes me feel safe is if I can be a good girl, do what I'm supposed to, go to work and do my job well, pay my bills in full and on time, don't be a dick to people, don't do anything too stupid, and that's enough to keep life from getting worse. The policies I was reading about would result in life being worse even if people are good and do what they're supposed to. I can't feel safe in a world that works like that.

People who are the same flavour of right-wing as the politician whose statements I was reading tend to be opposed to taxes. It's not something I feel myself - taxes have always felt negligible to me, but then I don't make enough money to be in a very high tax bracket, so I do get that it might feel different if you're in a high tax bracket.

What I'm wondering: do taxes make them feel unsafe, the same way the policies I was reading about make me feel unsafe? Or is it something other than feeling safe?

3 comments:

Christopher said...

I think everyone, for the most part, makes their decisions based upon a rational self-interest. Being in a significantly different economic class presents a completely different worldview than most people are accustomed to. That's my opinion anyhow.

laura k said...

My guess is they don't think about being safe. They are trying to not to share their earnings with anyone else, out of a lack of understanding of how a healthy society enables them to earn those earnings in the first place.

impudent strumpet said...

I wonder where their self-interest does fall on Maslow's pyramid