Last night was the last of the Presidential Debates. Kudos to Bob Schieffer as moderator for trying to make it interesting by asking some tough questions and encouraging some actual dialog for a change. But the result was still uninspiring. Both candidates failed to address the actual issues facing the economy. When asked about how to fix things, they both espoused plans (albeit different ones) to provide financial relief to citizens. Yet this is little more than distributing Kleenex boxes and touting it as a cure for the common cold. Nobody talked at all about the credit crisis. Nobody talked about the collective crisis of faith. Why? Probably because it’s complicated, and the majority of voters, especially the ones undecided at this late date, are looking for who’s got the plan that will benefit them most. It’s easy to react to what’s on the immediate horizon and opt for what feels good in the short term. It’s a lot harder to sacrifice short term for a longer term goal. It’s harder still when that goal is a collective goal, not a personal one.

So is the root of the problem selfish people? Yes and no. It’s true that people are inherently selfish on a whole. Yet curiously, the whole economy is dependent on that. It counts on people acting independently and in their own self interest. The market is down another 300 points this morning because people are bailing from it, trying to protect themselves. If everyone stayed in, the value would not have tanked. If people could coordinate and operate as a whole for the collective good, then values would not have crashed. However, values would then also not exist. It would equate to price fixing, and this defeats the basis on which a free market is based. The result is that the market is, by definition and necessity, selfish.

Public companies exist to bolster the value of the shareholders. This is not a criticism, it’s a fact. They are required by law to operate in the interest of their stockholders. What’s in the interest of the stockholders is a larger share price and bigger dividends. This means that companies operate on the same underlying principles as the market. That is, companies are selfish.

The GOP seems to have this undying belief in the free market. It will fix everything and make our world a better place. But that flies in the face of logic. Companies are selfish. They will not operate in the best interest of the community as a whole. The result is that they cannot and will not make investments for the common good. Consider a road that is needed for a company to transport their products. It is not in the interest of any company to build that road. It is in each of their interests to have someone else build the road so that they can use it. The only way it’s to a specific company’s advantage is if they can build a private road and prevent their competitors from using it. More generally, this is true of education, health care, and other needs of the nation as a whole that are not in the best interest of any company to support. Granted, if no one does this, all companies will suffer, but there is no incentive for them to operate collectively for the common good. It’s better to play “chicken” and hope someone else steps up and does it before it’s a crisis.

This reality sort of defines the role of a functioning government. To fund investments for the common good. This includes the common good of individuals as well as common good of corporations. Is this “spreading the wealth around,” as McCain kept accusing Obama of? Yes. But let’s not confuse that with Socialism. Taxes are necessary to fund these common-good investments. Without these investments, our economy and our way of life will collapse. Our very existence is dependent on making these investments. Despite Sarah Palin’s claim to the contrary, paying taxes is absolutely patriotic. It funds our existence and our ability to survive as a country and a culture. What could be more patriotic?

There are absolutely arguments to be had about which investments fall under the umbrella of the common good and which are frivolous. But there can be no rational argument that raising taxes to fund these investments is inappropriate. There can also be no argument that we shouldn’t be taxing at rates to fund the investments we are making.

Now I can’t say with a straight face that I like paying taxes. I don’t like having to pay for gasoline either, but they are both necessary to maintaining my lifestyle. I contend though, what irks people about paying taxes is not so much the absolute dollars they pay, but the relative pain of the payment compared to everyone else. That is, most people are willing to pay their fair share, and what makes it fair is confidence that you are paying what everyone else is. This would be true of any other good as well. Nobody likes paying $4/gallon for gas, but it only really hacks you off when you find out your neighbor is only paying $3.75. When it comes to taxes, the burden is more relative pain. This is the basis of the graduated tax rate plan. It tries to even out the pain so that everyone can afford a basic quality of life. So it is damned annoying to know that the wealthy are able to game the system and pay less in taxes than I do. The tax code needs revising. Loopholes need closing. And people who make more money should pay more taxes. This is not a socialist ideology. It’s as American as baseball.