Five progressive or liberal ideas that will not fix Americas problems.
1. Taxing Churches
This is something that may raise some good money for a year or two, but churches are smarter than most people give them credit for. There will be negotiations and consolidations and the larger churches will become just like many corporations who figure out legal ways to avoid taxes. While the smaller churches will simply foldm or close shop, for lack of a better term. Often, these smaller churches do more good for the community than people realize because pastors are better connected their parishioners. You may find that schisms and other disagreements may heal as churches combine to save money. In the end, you may increase revenue from taxing churches, but not as much as seems like you would get now.
If your goal is to see religion fade away, you are not likely to see that either. Pushing hard may cause believers to unite in ways that we can't really understand today. Many sects are bound by generations of traditions. These things don't just go away overnight.
If your goal is to cause changes within the religious sect, such as forcing them to change views on homosexuality, don't expect that to happen either. Again, this has to do with generations of traditions.
Also, here in the United States, we have that pesky First Amendment which reads, "Congress shall not pass laws favoring a practice of religion or denying the free practice thereof." Of course, there are limits to this, such as with anti-polygamy laws from the late 19th century. But even those may not survive Supreme Court muster if they were ever to come up for review again. (This, by the way is why Utah is currently not allowed to prosecute religious co-habitation, although bigamy is still off-limits.) Clearly, to not favor a practice of religion, if one is to tax churches, one must tax them all equally.
However, what if the church that you want to tax is clearly discriminatory in their practices and beliefs? I would advise to rely on the law. However, it is against legal precedent to write laws that force churches to change beliefs. With a few exceptions, courts have declined to allow use of the law to influence religious practices. Generally, the question you would need to answer is, "why would you care about an organization whose tenets you don't agree with?" In other words, "find a religion that you agree with and join them."
What will work instead? Build the economy. With a strong economy, church goers will fall into higher tax brackets, and will donate more to their church which could reduce the demand on public safety nets in addition to filling tax coffers. It will reduce the public burden on two fronts. A strong economy may have a different effect. Many people turn to religion during hard times, and tend to forget about it during prosperous times. As many sociologists have said, beginning with Calvin, "nothing will kill religion faster than prosperity will." Prosperity will give people other things to do with their Sunday mornings. If you really want a religion to go away, make people wealthy.
2. Raising the Minimum Wage
Wage is something that is relative. If minimum wage is raised, eventually everyone will get a wage increase, and the low wage earners will either not as well off or at best, where they were before. The effects are only temporary realized at best. Businesses have ways of dealing with minimum wage increases that create unintended consequences. Personally, if I owned a business, I wouldn't think twice about passing on my cost increases to customers after a minimum wage increase. After all, with more money, aren't people better able to afford it? Occasionally, yes the minimum wage needs to increase to keep up with inflation. But wage increases can also be inflationary in and of themselves.
What will work instead? Training programs to help people escape minimum wage jobs. Holding the line on college tuition, especially at state-run schools. This will give people hope to escape low-wage jobs. People tend to eat a McDonalds when times are rough, and at costlier places, where employees are paid and treated better, during prosperous times.
3. Raising Taxes on Wealthy
They who are "the wealthy" know how to work the system. Sure, it will sound like politicians are doing something, but there will be some sort of loophole, tax shelter or write-off that will be found. He who has the gold makes the rules. The rich also contribute a lot of money for political campaigns, and no one gives money without it being tied to consequences. Do you really think that a new tax be passed without a way to escape it? If taxes on the wealthy increase, loop holes will be written to the laws.
What will work instead? Again a strong economy is the answer. Think of taxes as an irrigation canal that comes from a river. It is easier to divert water from a raging river than a dry one. Some loopholes, however, are just silly. A mortgage reduction for a first house...wonderful. For a second house...OK? For a third house?...that is just wrong. For a fourth house?...You got to be kidding me? But yet, it is there. If you can afford 3 houses, you don't need a mortgage deduction. The tax code is full of examples like this., it's worse than Aged Swiss. No wonder Trump does not want to release his tax statements. We could close some of those loopholes.
4. Repealing the 2nd Amendment
This will reduce gun violence, for certain. It will not, however, end murder or even mass murder. People intent on causing harm to others will find a way to harm others if there is not access to guns. The 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms are part of the Bill of Rights. To people who want to curb this liberty, I would ask, what right is sacred to you and would you be willing to give up that right for a little more security?
What will work instead? Programs that reduce violent behavior. Perhaps reducing access to violent TV programs, violent movies and violent video games. We keep saying, "violence isn't the answer." However, in movies, television and video games, and even in real life, we constantly see the message, "violence IS the answer." We need to ensure that our messages are consistent.
5. Legalizing Drugs
This is one that both leftists and extreme right wingers agree on. You may create a tax revenue source in a business that is today tax free, but it won't last. As soon as banks feel comfortable in doing business with those who are now drug dealers, either new big businesses will evolve or existing big business, like Big Tobacco, will take over. Government will not be able to put this genie back in the bottle. And society will pay the price with the consequences of higher levels of addiction. We all pay the price of alcohol abuse in higher absenteeism, unemployment, welfare, broken marriages and families and in recovery programs. We will see more of those expenses with legalized drugs.
I know that many of you will correctly point out that in some countries in Europe, drugs have been legalized...blah, blah blah. To them I say, show me the science. Just because it SOUNDS logical, doesn't mean it will work. Remember, what you read about happening in Portugal doesn't mean it will work here where the culture is so different. Addiction is a bad thing whether or not the government collects taxes on it.
Despite what you have been told about the benefits of legal pot in some states in the US, people are making big money off of it. There are also, and you are not told about this, many people suffering because of it. Legal pot has many of the same consequences for families that alcohol and other additions have. Legalizing it doesn't take away those consequences. This is why it was banned in the first place.
What should be done instead? I support efforts to reclassify marijuana and some other drugs as Schedule II drugs to allow research into their potential medical benefits. Medical opioids have provided much relief to people, but at the price of prescription drug abuse. Canniboids show promise to provide the same relief without the addiction. There are probably other Schedule I drugs with the same promise.
I am definitely not for recreational drugs.
But I am not only picking on Liberals today. Look for Five Conservative Ideas that will not Fix Americas problems that has also been published.
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