They have our backs. We should have theirs | The Incidental Economist

They have our backs. We should have theirs | The Incidental Economist

I earn much more money. Some might conclude that I am the superior contributor to American society, simply because I hold a more lucrative job. After all, my tax dollars support a social safety-net that tow truck driver’s family might use: the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid, CHIP, and more. Yet this truck driver and that IDOT guy operate a safety-net for me, too, which I used when I encountered trouble along the road.

Much important work is done by people with sore backs and calloused hands who don’t get paid that much, but who pick our fruit, diaper our kids, prepare our meals, drive our kids to school, and more. My brother-in-law was recently hospitalized with a minor infection. In the next bed over, two nurse’s aides gently cleaned a very-sick uninsured man. I’ll probably need that help someday, too.

Each of us is both a maker and a taker in life. I shouldn’t apologize for my good paycheck. I shouldn’t object, either, if I’m asked to pay a little more so that these tow truck drivers and nurse’s aides have access to decent medical care. They have my back. I should have theirs, too.

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