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A Modest Proposal
by Eric J. Tower

[I plan to send this to a number of local newspapers and radio stations.  I'd also like to thank the propagandist Jonathan Swift for his assistance on this article]

A Modest Proposal:
For the prevention of the productive and more able members of New York State from brining harm to the assistance dependent, the less fortunate or their Government Servants; And for making them better servants of their fellow man.

It is sad for me, a man who has lived in New York State for near to his entire life, to see it in such moral decay. No matter where you may go throughout our fair county or state you can find the productive and more fortunate in dereliction of their duties to their fellow man and government. "The taxes are too much of a burden", they complain. "The state provides too much assistance to the poor", they grumble. "The unions are sucking businesses dry in this state", they greedily sneer. But I ask: who are they to deny assistance to those in need?

Indeed, it is the solemn duty of each person to serve the greater good of his fellow people. Those who are best able to assist are morally obligated to do so, as those who are lest able to assist are rightfully obliged to receive assistance from the able. This moral primary of altruism has been taught to all both secularly and in religion; how can anyone who believes in these moral teachings deny his moral obligations to his fellow man?

As a county we have been granted this opportunity by Albany to show our moral consistency and love for our fellow man by providing the assistance required for our fellow mans very survival no matter what the self-concerned business leaders believe we should do. It is in this very hour of need that we must maintain our moral integrity despite the greed-ridden complaints of the productive, and indeed because of their complaints. How can we even listen to the opinions of such harmful and selfish individualists when the welfare of so many people is at stake?

It is this concern for our moral integrity, love for my fellow man and disgust of the selfish that has prompted me to write my modest proposal to make the harmful productive people better servants of their fellow man. Many have complained for some time that our tax systems offer too many loopholes for the rich to use to deny the poor their rightful benefits. While that is true, we must also realize that it is not only the rich who are dodging their duty to serve the greater good but productive people as a whole. The productive, encompassing all those who are able bodied as well as ably funded are daily neglecting their fellow mans needs.

In the past governments have attempted to maintain moral order through taxation, those who earned a wage paid their taxes based upon how much they earned. Those who earned the most would pay the most, while those who earned less or nothing, such as the unfortunates unable to work at all, paid less or nothing. It is my proposal that this system is outdated and is daily dodged by the productive that have found its loophole. Under this outdated system of the past a productive person could deny his fellow man the rights to his labors by either leaving the state or simply choosing to work less or not at all. I say that forcing people to pay their taxes to support their fellow man is not merely enough to support the greater good and I am proved correct by our current budget situation.

It is because of these outrageous actions by the productive that our government servants find themselves unable to completely provide for the needs of the unfortunate. As such it is my proposal that in order to serve the interest of the greater good and social justice The Government of New York must undertake the following courses of action and may do so with the comfort that these actions are consistent with the primary moral standard of the people of New York.

Firstly, in order to generate revenue for the budget any and all loopholes in the tax system must be closed and the new tax code must take effect retroactively. All people found to be in dereliction of their duty to pay taxes will be legally compelled to do so or have their assets ceased. This will be the punishment for their attempts to deny their fellowman their due compensation.

Secondly, in order to ensure a tax base for the future no business or individual will be allowed to leave the state without express permission by the State Police. Any business or person found to be attempting to deny their fellowman their due compensation through leaving the state will be subject to strict legal action and possible jail time.

Thirdly, because the tax base has already been significantly depleted we must progressively raise the state income tax to a level that will allow us to reach the funds required to meet the needs to the unfortunate.

Fourthly, to stop the problem of caused by the productive who choose to not work; every person should be legally compelled to undergo an examination to determine if they are one of the productive or one of the unfortunate. Those able to contribute to the greater good but refuse to do so are morally responsible for the death of any unfortunate their work could have saved. Failure to act is as good as choosing to kill. As such, if they are found to be one of the productive and are in dereliction of their duty to work they will then be compelled by force to work for their fellow man in life or be sentenced to death and be compelled to work for them in death for their crimes against humanity.

Fifthly, Any of the productive that are compelled to work for the common good in death will do so through the following ways. Their organs and blood will be harvested by the state and used to further the lives of Medicaid recipients in need of organ transplants and blood transfusions. Their flesh will be harvested, tanned and dried to provide clothing, shoes and hats to keep the homeless of The State of New York warm in the winter. Their muscle tissues will be cooked and given to shelters that feed those unfortunates unable to afford food. Their bones and the remainder of their bodies will be ground up and used a compost on the State farms where the other productive will be compelled to work.

I confess that this proposal of mine may seem drastic to some but I ask them to consider the many thousands who will benefit by seeing my proposal put into action. There are those who may even believe my proposal disgusting (with regards to my fifth) but I assure them that while it is perhaps a bit disagreeable to the faint of stomach it is not morally inconsistent with the current practices of the State of New York.

Today the state enforces the moral rule "Sacrifice for others is good" through the use of the tax system. As altruists we accept that to be good we must sacrifice what we have for others. Those of us fortunate enough to have more must sacrifice more through the progressive tax system. Refusing to pay taxes is as good as destroying those who the taxes are meant to help. My proposal is only the continuance of this moral premise. The state must continue to enforce this moral ideal to its logical ends, as I have written above.

It is the moral duty of the young to sacrifice for the old. It is the moral duty of the able to sacrifice for the disabled. It is the moral duty of the employed to sacrifice for the unemployed. It is the moral duty of the productive to sacrifice for the unproductive. It is the moral duty of The Governance of New York to see to it that the greater good is served and not the selfish wishes of a minority of productive people who wish to deny their fellow man their rightful assistances.

Many more unfortunate peoples would be fed, clothed and healthy than would be under the current system. Therefore no one can deny that it would serve a greater good were my fifth proposal enacted and enforced by the State. As the benefit of my fellow man, the state and its dependants is my only goal in this proposal no one can deny that my heart is in right place either. That is unless that person denied from the first the very righteous moral premise we use to justify our current system of taxation. But what man would be so selfish as to wish to act in his favor rather than that of his neighbors?

I most certainly would not.
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