Krugman on Taxes and Medicare "consumers"

Here are two very good reads from Paul Krugman. The first is a response to those who refer to Medicare patients as "consumers". His point, I think, falls in line with CST and the dignity of the human person. I think this line of thought should be extended to all "markets" because we are primarily persons and not primarily consumers and thus we should be treated as such.

Patients are not Consumers

The second asks what taxes are for. Those who have read my posts will know that taxes simply act as a drain on the economy by taking away our purchasing power. This is necessary to maintain the value of the dollar and regulate effective aggregate demand. Krugman is right in pointing out that state governments or any governments who are not sovereign in their own currency (Eurozone) must tax in order to remain solvent. Governments sovereign in their own currency do not have this constraint. The Fed doesn't so much PRINT money as it does change the number in our electronic bank accounts. The constraint on sovereign government debt is inflation, not solvency. Here he mentions MMTers which stands for Modern Money Theory (which is less theory and more operational description).

I don't think the effect taxes have on aggregate demand is a secondary issue. In fact, I'd say its primary when we're in a recession. His best observation is this: "We have lots of excess capacity in the economy; the government can easily buy more goods and services without requiring that the private sector buy less." But his next conclusion is wrong, there is no good reason to address the deficit now, and the only reason to address it later is out of concern for inflation and not solvency.

His last paragraph is sadly true. There are many Ph.D. economists who still hold to ideological economies that don't exist, but use lots of fancy jargon to indicate they know what's going on.

What are taxes for?

Do read Krugman's posts! They are short and easy reads.

Preferential Option for the Poor(est)

A major theme in Catholic Social Teaching is the preferential option the poor. In its simplest this means giving of one's time, talent, and treasure to those with the greatest and most basic human needs. Usually this means the hungry, homeless, and ill members of our society. Most often people picture the citizens of Africa, Central America, or Southeast Asia. One can certainly find the hungry, homeless, and ill prevalent in these places, but our Bishops remind us constantly that the poorest, most defenseless members of our society are also in our own society. They are the unborn:

Abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental human good and the condition for all others. They are committed against those who are weakest and most defenseless, those who are genuinely "the poorest of the poor." -- U.S. Bishops, Living the Gospel of Life

Our desire to help the poor should culminate in the eradication of abortion and euthanasia from our society. None of the poor should be neglected, but the poorest must come first. Any violation against the most primary right to life must command our attention before all other violations.

This means more than policy changes. We must reach out to our neighbors and establish relationships with each other. The poor must be given proper care and just means of subsistence to not feel as though abortion is the only option. The greatest contributor to abortion, sexual immorality, must be fought with charity, education, and justice.

Laws which authorize and promote abortion and euthanasia are therefore radically opposed not only to the good of the individual but also to the common good; as such they are completely lacking in authentic juridical validity. Disregard for the right to life, precisely because it leads to the killing of the person whom society exists to serve, is what most directly conflicts with the possibility of achieving the common good. Consequently, a civil law authorizing abortion or euthanasia ceases by that very fact to be a true, morally binding civil law." -- John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, emphasis added