Is it fair to force people who have faithfully paid their mortgages to bail out those who haven't?

by Susanna Perkins

Created on: July 23, 2009   Last Updated: August 14, 2009

The simple answer to the question, of course, is "no, it isn't fair." But "fairness" should not be the question. The words, "fair," "faithfully" and "force" are emotionally charged and should have no place in a civil discourse. The question we should be asking is, should there be a taxpayer-funded bailout program for those who can't pay their mortgages? The answer must be yes, because it benefits Americans as a whole.

First, a very brief civics lesson. The United States of America was founded as a democratic nation of laws with a strong social contract in the tradition of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. In its simplest terms, the social contract means that we as a group agree to do certain things for the benefit of the group. An obvious example is if some other group attacks us, we band together for defense.

Our system of taxation relies on the social contract: my taxes can be used to build a bridge in Alaska that I, myself, will never see or use. But because that bridge theoretically benefits the group as a whole, it's alright for my tax dollars to be used in that way. Of course, the downside is that my tax dollars may be used to pay for something I find objectionable or morally repugnant, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, if I want the benefits of the social contract, I should be prepared to accept the will of the majority on some issues with which I disagree. (And I am always free to change others' minds to agree with me!)

Second, some costs and benefits. Some issues are pretty easy to analyze in terms of costs and benefits: fire and police protection and water and sewer systems benefit everyone. Imagine, if your house caught fire and you had to pay the actual cost of putting it out. Even worse, imagine if your next-door neighbor's house caught fire, and because he couldn't afford to put it out he let it burn and your house then went up in flames! It's easy to see that fire protection benefits you, even if you personally never use the service.

Other products and services are not so easy to analyze in terms of costs and benefits - public schools, libraries and certain types of infrastructure - yet most of us agree that they are necessary to our well being as a society. If we did not have an educated workforce, we might not be able to get the right change at the store, let alone compete as a nation in the global economy. So, even those who don't have children of school age, are willing to support public education because it benefits all of us

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