Sadly, as we observe reductions in staff members and funding in our local school districts (Herald, March 18 and April 10), as well as the budget crunch faced by La Plata County, we read that the Colorado legislature must find $1.5 billion in cuts to balance the state budget. This monetary crisis is largely because of the massive reductions by the Trump administration in federally sponsored programs nationwide, but it is also tied to the constraints Colorado imposed on itself with the 1992 TABOR Amendment and the flat 4.4% income tax rate, which applies equally to the wealthy and the poor.
As the richest country in the world, with the highest number of billionaires (902) and the highest private wealth, we rank pitifully low on various measures of quality of life: infant mortality (among the highest of wealthy nations), life expectancy (62nd), health care (15th), medical bankruptcies (first, with 66.5% of all bankruptcies linked to medical expenses, according to a widely cited 2009 Harvard study), incarceration rate (first) and happiness (23rd). These are among the consequences of what seems to be a rupture in the social contract.
Throughout the history of Western civilization, the teachings of Western religions have been the spiritual foundation of social relations. While these ideals were often not met by the realities of life in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, the concept of the Golden Rule is foundational to virtually all ancient faiths. These faiths conferred blessings on the meek, the merciful and the peacemakers, and defined prosperity as a spiritual state rather than a measure of wealth. They also urged compassion for those in need and called for a just and equitable society.
Centuries later, during the Enlightenment, philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed the concept of the “social contract” (1762), proposing a way to overcome the societal, political and economic inequalities that helped fuel the American and French revolutions. The creation of democracy based on equality, though imperfect, has brought about the modern world – one in which the most democratic countries provide their citizens with many fundamental services necessary for a healthy society.
Caring for those in need, welcoming the stranger, love and forgiveness, humility and peacemaking are foundational to healthy societies. Added to these have been various programs found necessary for a healthy, just and democratic nation: economic security for the aged and infirm; universal health care; a vibrant medical research infrastructure; public education; public services such as transportation, roads and communications; a compassionate and competent judicial system; and international aid programs to help those in need.
Beginning with President Franklin Roosevelt’s response to the Great Depression, the U.S. became a world leader in meeting society’s needs, developing programs and services that served our citizens for well over half a century. These programs were funded by taxpayers, with the greatest contribution from those who benefited most from our capitalist economy. The progressive tax system from the early 1930s to the late 1970s included a 90% rate on the wealthiest earners throughout the 1950s. Those funds helped rebuild America after the Great Depression and paid for medical research, the Interstate Highway System, our nuclear program, public education, the military, the space program, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, food stamps, farm subsidies, the Forest Service and National Park system, student loans and other beneficial social programs.
The current administration’s implementation of Project 2025 has sought to dismantle the systems and services that help so many citizens and have made the U.S. one of the most generous and admired countries in the world – the proverbial beacon on the hill. Project 2025 appears focused on demolishing the social contract that has served us so well. The question is not whether we can afford to maintain the social contract – it is whether we have the political will to demand it.
Gene Orr, M.Ed., is a retired educator with 43 years of experience teaching social studies and history in middle school, high school and college in Durango. He lives in Kline.
