Although the election is over, I would still like to respond to the Martha Pincus article in the October Chronicle titled “Jews and the Democratic Party Share Values.”
Her article and the campaign raised issues involving the long-term health of our country that we should be thinking about even between elections.
Pincus contended that the Jewish value of tikkun olam (repair of the world) was a reason Jews should vote Democratic. Where does the Torah or the Talmud say that tikkun olam is the responsibility of the government?
It is the responsibility of the individual to care for those less fortunate, and that is a conservative value. Research has found that conservatives give more to charity than liberals (see the 2006 book “Who Really Cares? The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism” by Arthur C. Brooks).
Aren’t personal responsibility and accountability also Jewish values? Those are baseline values of the conservative movement and the Republican Party.
Pincus’ referred to the need for a social safety net. Republicans share that concern and mentioned it often during the campaigns.
What everyone needs to understand is that this endless need to provide entitlements has created budget deficits and government debt levels that are unsustainable.
The Republican candidates did not want to eliminate entitlements but to restructure them so the truly needy will have benefits when necessary.
This problem cannot be resolved by taxing “the rich.” If the government appropriates every dollar of net worth of the so-called top 1 percent, which amounts to $70 billion, that would fund the government for eight days.
I believe the Republican Party supports free market principles, lower taxes, restructuring the entitlement system, a strong defense, and standing with our allies — all of which made America the greatest country in the world. We should all want it to stay that way.
Whitefish Bay
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