Who will voluntarily finance an expedition to Poland of 600 armed men? The estimated cost to keep them there for one year is $600 million. (See here for Aghanistan costs.) Who will voluntarily finance building and sending 12 state-of-the-art fighter jets to Poland, comparable to an F-16? The cost for the equipment? Who knows? One low-ball source says about $20 million each. However, here is another source that says $165 million each.
If enough people contribute voluntarily to this cause, which parallels a recent U.S. government action, then there is no need for the U.S. government to do this and to force reluctant taxpayers to foot the bill. On the other hand, if not enough people contribute voluntarily, then why should the government force people to pay for it?
Or take a different cause: food stamps. Who will voluntarily finance a food stamp program? The cost to match that of the U.S. government is $80 billion a year. If 100 million households each contribute $800, that will finance the cause for one year. This hypothetical doesn’t question the rules guiding the distribution of the funds.
If enough people contribute voluntarily to the cause of food stamps, then there is no rationale for the U.S. government to do this and to force unwilling persons to pay for its program. On the other hand, if not enough people are willing to contribute voluntarily, then why should the U.S. government force unwilling people to pay for it?
10:02 am on April 24, 2014