Newsplaining

The Allegory of the Pancake Breakfast
     Normally I use this space to explore the nuts and bolts of policy as well as global issues as they pertain to America. There are a plethora of policy issues that can be addressed currently, so much so it’s hard to figure out which one to breakdown first.
     So while the dust settles over reactions to current policies put forward by the Trump Administration, I’m taking this time to explore something a little different: The Pancake Breakfast.
     I’d never come in contact with an event such as this, in which community organizations, religious groups or any group with a cause, hosts a breakfast based on freewill donations that go towards funding an action in the community. It’s not only pancake breakfasts; there are community dinners, lunches, auctions, school fundraisers — all based around donations or ticket-based events whose proceeds go towards infinitely just and deserving causes.
     Where I’m from, the culture doesn’t actively promote charity in the form of small, community-driven events. Charity occurs in the form of cold calling, making donations on your own avail, or school fundraisers. The prevalence of consistent and numerous small fundraisers come as a shock to me. The fact that I can go to almost one per week, in any town or county, shows the true power and dedication of community engagement.
     I travel frequently, seeing signs advertising scholarship funding through a community meal, the paying of medical bills for a community member that has fallen on black days, or collecting money for damages caused by storms. No matter the cause, the quickness and generosity of the people is never delayed or held back.
     This lack of hesitation and willingness to donate at community events however seems to end at the community borders. This can be seen not only in Iowa, but in cities, states and nations across the world. Why is it that we are more inclined to share our resources with our communities, but reluctant to share those resources with the broader society.
     Consider the pancake breakfast as a tax system for a second. Community fundraisers such as these are used to help someone or some people who have fallen on unfortunate times. Whether it is medical, familial or environmental causes, these fundraisers serve a public good to help those less fortunate. We have no problem giving freely to these people, to help them while strengthening our communities.
     Why then are we so reluctant to withhold that charity to larger society?
     Our taxes go towards Medicaid and Medicare, which fund health care for the elderly, and the poor who qualify. What is the difference between holding a community fundraiser for someone who needs help paying their medical bills, and paying for the same cause in taxes?
     Our taxes go towards the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which helps people stricken by environmental disaster. We hold community donations to help someone who lost their home. Why are we more open to the community donation, than we are to paying for that aid to others in taxes?
     At our churches, we make small donations to a community pool of money, that go towards helping the poor, should they need it for any circumstance. Yet, we are uncomfortable paying a portion of our money to a similar operation of the government, who reserves the money to pay a finite amount of unemployment dollars to those who lost their jobs.
     Why do we express full support of these local events for our communities, but question the efficacy of our money to help society? After all, they are the same problems, and impact those who are the same as us.
     When we boil it down to principles, we are helping others in either scenario. Some could argue that by combining the efforts of all Americans, we can help even more people if we all contributed proportionately.
     Maybe it’s in the language we use. We see the command to “pay taxes” and are immediately filled with resentment towards paying our hard earned money to the government. Maybe it’s the fact that we are primed to believe that we are “paying” the government as a whole, rather than to the causes. Maybe it’s the fact that we have no choice in the manner on the amount we “pay” and to what we “pay” the most to.
     But what if we thought of taxes as donations, rather than bills? What if we “donated” to Medicare and Medicaid every week to provide help to those who can’t afford doctor bills; “donated” to unemployment services for those that lost their jobs for qualifying reasons; “donated” money to food stamps for those who can’t afford food. Why is it such a problem for us to be supportive of that kind of donating?
     Maybe it’s because we don’t think that others are deserving of our money, but what then makes our community members more deserving of the donations we give them? Is it because we know them? Is it because we know their struggle, and know that they’ll use the money to help themselves? Is it too farfetched to trust that someone else is in the exact same predicament, somewhere else in the country? What makes them unworthy of our donations?
     Is it because we think that we are entitled to more than others get? If so, why do we not think that when we make the community donation?
     Is it because not everyone pays proportionately? After all, our freewill donations do not have to be $100 checks. They can be as little as $1. Taxes are disproportional. If someone doesn’t have to pay as much as we pay, then why should we pay? If we fixed all those loopholes, would that make it ok?
     This is not to say that community events for donations are the root of all that is wrong with the tax code, they are great at fostering unity, and going the extra mile for one of their own, but why then can’t we feel that way with our taxes?
     Sure, our taxes go to other things that most of us wouldn’t consider charity. But a majority of government services go towards helping those that are without, while trying to help make our communities steadfast with infrastructure. Some times, the government fails at this. Some times, it succeeds.
     But think about it, the government allots donations every week that we don’t even need to think about. Our money goes to some sort of public good, and to the people that qualify for it. We should feel good then about those taxes that do that. Why don’t we?
     Why do we assume that other people don’t deserve this or that, or think that we should be entitled to the same charity? We don’t do that in other circumstances…
     But maybe if we changed our perceptions that charity would be exerted back to us. Maybe if we viewed taxes as donations, we wouldn’t be so hesitant to pay, and in some cases, pay more, to help us.
     Just food for thought…