This sign along a highway somewhere (which I scooped up from an online posting) does suggest a way to deal with many of our most difficult social, economic, and political problems.
If it is true that we are "all in this together," then the resources we have available, collectively, to address our collective problems, needs to take into account all of the resources that could be mobilized to address those problems. Given the immensity of the wealth generated within the United States of America - wealth that is mostly treated as "individual," but which derives, in fact, from collective, as well as individual, contributions and efforts - we need to mobilize that wealth to deal with (for instance) the health care, housing, and educational needs of everyone.
To pick out one of our well-known billionaires, how did Jeff Bezos get to be so wealthy? Answer (it's easy): Amazon.
Amazon's online business model was a terrific idea, and kudos to Jeff Bezos (and his then wife) for coming up with it, but Amazon is an economic success story because so many individual people use that service. There is no reason that the "consumers," whose consumption makes some people into billionaires, shouldn't be able to enjoy the benefits of the economy that they, in fact, have caused to generate such wealth.
I, personally, think that some redesigned tax policies would allow us to "balance the budget," while also providing housing for everyone, and health care for everyone, and educational opportunities that would allow everyone to learn, and grow, to their maximum individual potential.
Not to mention hiring park rangers, scientists, and air traffic controllers!
Think about it! That's not a bad suggestion!
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