Myth or Truth: The Melting Pot Can Lead Economic Egalitarianism - Essay Example

However, when the average American buys a house, he likes having the HUD program to count on. When he sends a child to college, federal grants and subsidized student loans come in handy. Government programs are in place to help economically challenged people obtain the tools they need for success: homeownership and college educations. Without these government programs, the majority of Americans could never afford to have a little piece of the “American Dream.” All citizens of the United States are dependent on the government in dozens of subtle ways, from infrastructure to tax laws (USA Today).

All citizens are expected to contribute to this government “help” by paying taxes on their income and investment earnings. Taxes are unequal between the rich and the poor when looked at as a percentage of earnings, and artificial limitations on the use of government services don’t bring about economic equality. In her discussion of the Linda McClain book, The Place of Families: Fostering Capacity, Equality, and Responsibility, Josephson points out that “lack of economic resources [is] a core problem for many U.S. families” (59).

All families provide care for the very young and very old and must procure the resources to do so while maintaining an acceptable lifestyle for the wage-earners in between. The often unpaid caregiving contributes to the welfare of citizens and families, but can financially devastate a family or at least cause them to struggle. Tax laws don’t take unpaid caregiving into enough account. The first underlying message of tax laws is, Paid wage earners are all we’re concerned about, and any concessions to unpaid family members must be secondary.

The USA Today goes so far as to say, “A closer look at political discourse and the arcane details of American tax law reveal other messages: subtle yet influential bias against women and people with low-to middle-income jobs” (2).