Equality of
condition, as defined by Ricardo Tocqueville, is the “ability of any individual
to have an equal opportunity at achieving success or upward movement in
society. Through hard work, and good character, a person will certainly
alleviate his current social standing. Equality of condition is harmless, since
it attempts to give everyone the same opportunity of what another man has in
changing his current social situation.
An example of an evidence of the existence
of Equal Condition was during the first years of Europeans colonizing the
Americas. The “New Americans” were limited of their titles, positions or
aristocratic orders. They were free to engage in art, commerce and literature
without any criticism or any government interruptions. The people were free to
work in an attempt to move upward in society. This was only possible because
they had no titles or inheritances carried over from Europe “the old world”.
This however, is not the case in the
modern days. In the Philippines, financial capacity, titles, positions or
social status play an important role in what a person could achieve during his
or her lifetime. Equality of condition, is nonexistent
The government’s proposal of
redistribution of income, as they cited, is the government’s attempt to promote
or regulate “equal condition” in the country. This is where a portion of the
income of all employed persons, may be rich or part of the working class, is to
be taxed away as mandatory to be evenly distributed to the unemployed. However
good this may result, as a form charitable tax and compulsory “donation”, this
form of policy does not promote equal condition, for equal condition means fair
opportunities are given to both rich and poor, and does not involve obligating
the working class people, to give away the money that they have worked hard,
while the unemployed wait for subsidy.
However, as logical people, we do not have
to close our minds, let us give this policy a chance of being amended according
to the culture of the Philippines. In normal taxation, special taxes are being
regulated when taxpayers are registered through application and mandated
depending on the annual revenue they have incurred. This can also be applied
with the proposed redistribution policy. For instance, in the Value added tax
rules, businesses are only required to require VAT tax if their annual income
has a minimum of Php 1 500,000 or if they have any proof that they will incur
Php 1 500,00 for the year (like collectibles and payables to the firm).
This type of system could be adapted, or
any other amendments that does not affect taking money from the working class
so as not to cause further speculations on the government’s capacity to
formulate rules essential to the development of the nation.
Aside from making poor people lazy, the
original proposal would only produce more people, in a sense that they would
only wait for money to come to them, they will lose their pride and sense of
empowerment. Understudied policies will certainly cause certain arguments,
especially when it puts another group of individuals at stake at losing even a
part of their already reduced income. Regulation of redistribution is certainly
unfair to the employed citizens, however, for me, taxation can be implemented
to the rich who has so much to give without sacrificing much.
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