Our Social Contract

Makes America Great

To the Editor:

In May, my 12-year-old daughter Jenna sent a tersely written letter to The Newtown Bee, chiding the voters of Newtown for failing to support the recommended budget. She was disappointed that the budget was defeated, but incredulous that so many families failed to support the budget and their children’s education. Yes, we actually talk about civic issues in our family. And yes, she was the one who suggested that if people don’t want to live in a family friendly community then maybe they should move. Jenna doesn’t mince words.

Several residents, rather than confront the letters of other adults, have criticized Jenna in letters. One person questioned her values since she is fortunate to live in that “enclave” on Equestrian Ridge Road.

Now comes Frank Gardner, who by his lengthy letters has all the answers for fiscal reform and fairness, to suggest that Jenna should read The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw and rethink her views. Mr Gardner suggested that more students should volunteer, like seniors do, to get a better feel for our community.

Some day Jenna may very well read The Greatest Generation. Right now, she’s reading Shakespeare, Darwin, and Steven Hawking. Jenna knows a tremendous amount about “the greatest generation”; her 84-year-old grandfather, a Newtown taxpayer, is part of that generation, having served in the United States Navy in the Pacific. Earlier this year, Jenna spent several months researching and writing about the person who led the greatest generation, Franklin D. Roosevelt. If he were alive today, President Roosevelt would applaud Jenna for her intellectual curiosity, wit, wisdom, and personal courage to speak her mind in support of our democracy. He would honor Jenna for her commitment to serving to others. Contrary to what Mr Gardner thinks, Jenna knows this community well, having volunteered several hundred hours including spending time with seniors at Ashlar, participating in food drives, delivering holiday gifts for the needy, and raising money for charities. She’s not alone. Hundreds of Newtown students volunteer thousands of hours. If everyone in Newtown was as civic minded as Jenna, our slogan wouldn’t be Nicer in Newtown, it would be Nirvana in Newtown.

While I will agree that the current system of funding local government is by no means perfect, I suggest that Mr Gardner and others rethink their concept of paying taxes only based on what services you use. Could you be more self-interested? Think about the implications. The money that you and others actually contributed to social security while employed, will typically be paid in benefits within the first five to seven years of retirement. After that, your contribution will be depleted and my tax dollars and other citizens will be supporting your social security payments. And when you or other seniors become ill and require medical treatment, it is the payments of working citizens making Medicare tax payments that will pay a significant portion of a typical $10,000+ hospital bill, because most senior citizens never contributed $10,000 in Medicare taxes. That’s how it should be, one generation supporting another.

Jenna’s grandfather never made a great deal of money, but he saved what he could and lived a modest, thrifty life –– still does, right here in Newtown. His annual retirement income from social security and investments is much less than the $35,000 to $55,000 limits that would entitle him to a senior citizen tax rebate. (A senior citizen with $55,000 of income is hardly in poverty.) Jenna’s grandfather has both the ability and willingness to pay his local taxes, wouldn’t think about asking for the tax rebate, and he supported the recommended town budget. As a member of the greatest generation, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

So, Mr Gardner, as you turn 65 later this year –– which makes you only tangentially part of the “greatest generation” –– I hope you understand the ideals that millions fought so valiantly for, and for which so many thousands gave their lives. What we do in America, in our great democracy –– which Winston Churchill noted, “is the worst form of government on earth, except all others,” –– is support the common good, like free public education for all, where everyone contributes. At times, there may be some inequities, but in the long run, it works out about right. Some families benefit today because they have children in school and their taxes don’t support the full costs of educating their children, but they will continue to pay taxes in the future, when their children are grown. Each generation supports the other. Just like Social Security, Medicare, Aid to Families with Dependent Children and so on. That’s part of our social contract. That’s what makes America great. Not perfect, but great.

Quite frankly, if people don’t like it, they shouldn’t just leave Newtown, as Jenna suggested, they should leave America, and go live somewhere else. Try finding a country with lower taxes with everything America has to offer. You don’t have to be from greatest generation to know that.

To our friends, Happy Fourth of July. As we celebrate this holiday, please take a few moments with family and friends and read aloud the Declaration of Independence. It’s better reading than any book Tom Brokaw will ever write.

Ted Ruddock

14 Equestrian Ridge Road, Newtown                          June 30, 2003