My Manifesto, Yo!

Whether we like it or not, the government is going to have some sort of influence on our economy - the amount of control and influence is what's to be determined. If the government had no control, I think it would be difficult to be controlled at all if left entirely to the people. Alternately, they should not have too much control over the economy; there should be a healthy balance of power over the economy between the government and the people. Without that control, the economy would collapse, but with too much, there would be no freedom. 

Although Oregon's form of taxes is good, I think the sales tax that Washington has would be just as effective, if not more. With the sales tax, people pay a little at a time instead of paying their taxes all at once. Also, it ensures that people do pay, because they have to purchase things at some point, and when they do they'll automatically have to pay some taxes as well. Ideally, those who are unable to pay should not have to pay taxes, while those who have enough to should pay taxes - however, any system like that would cause many problems with trying to distinguish what separates a person who can pay their taxes from a person who can not. People who have large amounts of wealth or excess money should definitely be paying taxes, though.

Health care is something that should definitely be provided for everyone, as well as education. Once a student reaches college, money may become more of an issue, but there should always be possibilities for them to be successful, whether that be through assistance or their own abilities. Unemployment is difficult because unfortunately, there will always be someone who does not have a job - that's what makes the jobs that do exist worth something, because they are in demand. The government should still offer some sort of support in all of these situations for those who need it. They should help provide for services such as police, fire, emergency, and military as well, as these are crucial necessities for society's survival and ability to run smoothly and efficiently. Although taxes should cover this partially as well, things such as roads and public areas should be upkept in order to keep them in safe working order.

To finish off with a question: if the US was not in debt, how much money would we be able to add back into things such as education and public services? Would taxes be lowered, or kept up in order to help prevent going into debt again? (Two questions instead of one? Golly.).