Sometimes you have to benefit others

One of the attitudes that often causes problems within capitalist societies is the idea that X benefits Y group, but we’re in Z group so why should we pay?

There are a few examples of this in action – in South Africa the unprincipled “user pays principle”, an idea which can only divide our country further, was developed to exploit this same instinct.

Because people who aren’t in Gauteng don’t use our highways, well why should they pay for them?

This breeds the feeling within Gauteng that because we pay about 50% of the country’s income taxes we should get about 50% of the services. The rest of the country can go on the “user pays” principle too.

Obviously I am being facetious – because the US repeatedly demonstrates how that principle doesn’t work through its education system.

Take East Ramapo, New York. The majority of the tax payers in that small town are Hasidic Jews, and they didn’t like the fact that they were paying taxes for schools they weren’t using.

Thus they strove to take over the school board, and immediately shenanigans began. For example they sold off one school that was valued at $6 million, for $3 million. The state nullified the sale, but eventually settled on a price of $4.9 million.

Similarly the American religious right are very keen on stripping out America’s education budget, and pushing things like school voucher systems.

The poster child for this system is Milwaukee, and the result is schools with inadequate facilities, a lack of professional staffing, and religious indoctrination.

America’s education system has been slipping in the global rankings for years, basically born of this idea that “It’s not my kids using those schools” – so the kids who do, end up with a worse education.

This sort of thinking which is in action within the US also has effects aside from undermining schooling.

Before I get into this, I want to start by talking about my food beliefs. I believe food is one of the most powerful weapons we have against group hatred – that when we eat together we stop seeing each other as the other, and start considering each other as one tribe.

Not everyone gets along in such a situation, but in general, hatred remains between individuals rather than forming between groups – because we all eat at the same table and if the food is good enough, the general mood remains amiable.

We can enjoy each other’s company because we enjoy each other’s food.

Minneapolis, Minnesota plays host to a large number of Somali immigrants, and about 82% of them live at or below the poverty line.

This means they rely on food pantries to keep their kids fed.

Most of these immigrants are Muslim, and so they got together to form a state funded Halaal food pantry.

Terry Firma, a guest blogger for The Friendly Atheist, was outraged, stating that this religious group was demanding special rights.

Here is the thing, if there aren’t food banks serving Halaal food to the poor, that leaves a massive opening for other groups with less neutral views to come in and take their place.

And it is not like this is unprecedented in the world of religion. A lot of religious charities utilise the lack of alternatives to proselytise, and a fair chunk of Hamas’ political strength is based on its charitable works.

The fact that this food pantry is set up to benefit Muslims, does not make it a bad idea. In fact I would go further and say that atheist groups within the US should set up their own, superior quality Halaal alternatives.

Why? Because then the kids who grow up eating Halal will get some positive contact with atheists and secularists, rather than having them proclaim that they should rather starve than have the state provide food sources that conform to their parents’ religious beliefs.

Cultural barriers can be overcome, and people can become more and more used to seeing each other as individuals rather than alien groups.

This is also why I believe it wouldn’t be a bad thing if we in South Africa paid slightly higher taxes, if we could ensure that the money went towards keeping people fed with good food.

I have no interest in paying taxes to enrich Germany’s auto industry however. The rich are already rich, and a flashy car doesn’t make a lacklustre administrator do their jobs any better.

The fact that our government is corrupt and probably wouldn't use the funds the way they are intended does not undermine the idea that the government could achieve a lot in the way of unifying the country through feeding schemes.

There is nothing gained by the idea that “I don’t use this, therefore why should I pay?”

There is everything gained by the idea that we are in this together, and can improve things together. We can learn from America’s mistakes, so as not to repeat them.

We as a country need to do away with ideas like “user pays”, and unite in our bid to make things better for everyone.