Collegiate Times

The danger of foreign oil dependency has been a consistent theme in the press over the last several years. Many have assailed the Iraq War as well as high gasoline prices as a product of United States dependence on foreign oil. Amidst this furor, let?s not forget that the United States is facing danger from another variety of dependency ? a far more deleterious sort ? which becomes more and more prevalent in the American psyche with each passing year. The threat is called entitlement, and unfortunately, the United States, a nation forged from a struggle for independence and established upon principles like individual liberty, self-reliance and personal responsibility, is becoming a nation wrought with a culture of entitlement and government dependence.

One hundred years ago, Americans were responsible for every facet of their lives. They demanded hard work and self-subsistence from themselves, their families, their neighbors and their communities. At the dawn of the twentieth century, Americans in no way felt entitled to government retirement plans, health insurance, food and even their monthly income. Maybe this was because then Americans understood that the Preamble to our Constitution references promoting the general welfare, not providing the general welfare.

Nothing better illustrates the entitlement culture developing in our nation than the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Americans have opened their hearts and their checkbooks to Katrina victims, donating more than three billion dollars to relief and recovery efforts. This outpouring of generosity demonstrates that American society is a compassionate one, one that has the capacity to take care of its poor, its sick and its homeless ? without infringing upon the rights of its other citizens.

While Hurricane Katrina has resulted in a charitable outpouring, it has resulted in two other things: an unprecedented squander of taxpayer dollars (88 billion so far) and a demonstration of just how dependent some Americans are on the federal government. From the time the storm struck, many residents of the Big Easy demonstrated the hazard of government dependence and entitlement. Instead of fending for themselves, residents of New Orleans waited for the government to come to their rescue. When it did not, instead of working with their fellow citizens, the situation deteriorated into lawlessness, with the strong preying on the weak.

In the months since Hurricane Katrina, the situation has resulted in more entitlement and disgusting ingratitude. Hurricane victims rebuke the government?s response and demand government handouts?not only temporary assistance like food, clothing and shelter?but new homes and money to replace items lost. With the media cheerleading, Gulf Coast residents declare, ?where is my government?? The most entitled among them file class action lawsuits against FEMA, demanding more assistance, more of other American?s hard-earned money. Considering all the government aide and private charity, isn?t it about time we expect people to do for themselves, and show a little gratitude for all that has been done for them?

In the last hundred years, attitudes have changed quite dramatically. Not only are Americans now covered by a comprehensive government safety net, but so-called progressive politicians now propose giving Americans new ?rights? that are found nowhere in the Constitution. These so-called ?rights,? such as housing, higher education and health insurance, are merely an attempt to disguise what they really are: crippling entitlements. Notice that the rights that are actually enumerated in the Constitution do not in anyway impose on the rights of others. As George Mason Professor Walter Williams noted in a column titled ?Bogus Rights,? housing, food and healthcare are not rights. Each imposes on the rights of others, and therefore, cannot be rights as the Founder?s understood them.

In the coming years, entitlements will threaten the economic foundations of the United States unless taxes are drastically increased. Mandatory government entitlements, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid account for well over half the federal budget, and with the retirement of baby boomers, entitlement spending will reach 19 percent of the GDP. Given the rate at which lawmakers propose new entitlements, this projection can only become more depressing.

Government entitlement is so problematic and destructive to a free, republican form of government not only because it undermines the best of America?s values, but because it leaves citizens with no incentive to break the cycle. Once the majority of Americans become dependent on government and the minority of citizens foot the bill, the majority can see no good reason to do for themselves what government can do for them in a much less efficient manner. In a May 2001 Heritage Foundation Lecture, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint points out that: ?Americans who receive nearly half of federal government benefits pay only one percent of the taxes.?

DeMint goes on to add, ?Fifty percent of Americans now pay less than four percent of the total individual income taxes, while the top five percent pay nearly 55 percent of individual income taxes. We now have a majority of voters that have very little incentive to restrain the growth of government.? Politicians have realized that increasing taxes on the wealthy, while providing more benefits for those who do not finance government programs, only perpetuates government dependence ? and consequently ? their power.

Entitlement and government dependence is clearly one of the most immediate dangers threatening not just our nation?s financial and economic outlook, but the social and moral future of our culture.

Americans must look to the free market for solutions and demand representatives who will be honest with them concerning the perils of government dependency. We must not forget, however, that we have a duty to help the truly less fortunate; that?s something that compassion, private charity and faith-based organizations have accomplished in past and can accomplish today, without the venomous effects of government entitlement. Carefully consider the costs of entitlement and government dependence, not only because many of us will pick up the tab, but because the principles that have made America the greatest, freest nation in the world hang in the balance.