I am pleased to see concerned taxpayers getting involved in the debate on the currently being debated in the US Senate. It is our tax money being spent, so I believe it is our civic duty to contact our legislators and inform them on how to spend these billions.

After engaging in hours of reading, listening to economists from both conservative and progressive camps, and researching endless Web sites, I have discovered something important about being a taxpayer and how this is connected to my personal values: I want our government to put my tax dollars into economic programs that support my values. Allow me to provide some examples:

Workers: Amid the massive layoffs in America, I want my tax dollars to assist those who are experiencing the hardship of unemployment, or being underemployed. This is financial assistance to hardworking Americans who must pay a mortgage and feed themselves and their families. The unemployment benefits provided to these people will be used to pay for the “necessities,” like their house payment (which will support banks), rent (which will support the land lords, who also have a mortgage payment) and local stores (where people buy food). It is a temporary form of stimulus, to keep people from financially going under.

Military: I have never supported the Iraq War. So I want my money used to bring our troops home. And once home, I want them provided with the best medical care, GI Bill and any other veterans benefits they were promised when they joined the military.

Small businesses: I support local commerce. These people need loans to stay afloat or start a new business. They are closely connected to the local community, and bring tax revenues to financially struggling local governments.

Financial institutions: I support executive pay cuts, and our government paying off the mortgages of all workers who have had their jobs outsourced or who have become recently unemployed. If a homeowner qualifies for this type of program, there is a three fold benefit. The homeowner will not go into foreclosure and can keep their home. The financial institution receives the money which they can lend to small businesses to keep them open. The money normally used by the homeowner to pay the mortgage, will be spent locally on necessities: food, gas, utilities, etc.

Green jobs: Of course, the best way to stimulate an economy is to create permanent, well paying jobs, with health benefits. If the stimulus package creates these new jobs with federal funding, then businesses can later buy these operations and privatize them. When this happens, the taxpayers get their money back. But we only get it back when our economy improves. And it cannot improve without federal stimulus dollars.

Will the economic stimulus legislation satisfy my personal taxpayer values? It will address some, and not others. And it goes without saying that this legislation will put us deeper in debt. But after looking at the alternative to no federal stimulus, I believe this debt must be incurred. Without it, we won’t have an economy to save.

 

Anna Rose Ravenwoode lives in Kelseyville.

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