Equity

How far must we go before equality becomes inequality? Is it fair to assume that everyone must work and everyone must contribute? Or is it an option not to work? Does the individual have the right to choose not to work and expect to be taken care of by the taxpayer? Or is it fair to assume that everyone must work thereby creating a productive society reliant on the productivity of its citizens.
We've come along way from hunting and gathering. Our evolution of sorts has created a shift from survival to dependence. I believe that it is instinct to survive despite the obstacles we encounter. The creation of the modern state, organized societies and the safety nets designed to keep citizens from falling through the cracks has impacted our ability to be a highly productive society because incentives are lost because as we know: "we cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." Before I continue it must be stated that I believe it is essential to care and protect those who are incapable of caring for themselves whether it is the young, the old, the vulnerable or the sick. This essay is intended to address the matter of those who choose not to work despite the fact that they are able bodied individuals. Quite often I hear the expression: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer or the rich don't share their wealth. First, everyone shares in this country if they pay taxes. That's right. We share through taxation because the more we earn the more we pay. So much so that there is a point in which it becomes questionable as to how much is an acceptable level of taxation. Those who are 'less' fortunate receive subsidies and tax credits and so on and so forth but if you are in the 'fortunate' category subsidies and credit do not exist instead it is mandatory to give almost 50% of your earnings. But when do we reach the point of: enough! A prevailing negative attitude is directed at those who have more yet without those who have more there wouldn't be any money to give to those who have less. There is a taxation psychological benchmark; there is a point of saturation. This is a time for a reality check: we do not live in a communist country where everyone lives in the same house, receives the same education, drives the same car, wears the same clothes, achieves similar successes and failures, lives to be 84, receives a gold medal for effort, constantly gets a pat on the back for a 'job well done', has 2.2 children, is artistic, athletic and a gifted musician or a highly-skilled craftsmen instead we live in a country of individuals who excel in different areas and at different rates or sometimes not at all because the harsh reality is that we are not all the same. We are entitled to justice and individual rights and freedoms but at the end of the day it comes back to the individual. Our role as a society is to provide individuals with opportunities to education and training as well as other social safety nets to meet the basic needs of life but it comes down to the individual. Guarantees for a successful life are not promised or wagered.