The Golden Rule and Law in the United States
Introduction
The term “golden rule” is not directly mentioned in the Holy Bible but it is connected to Matthew 7:12. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus issued the golden rule and stated, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 (NIV). It is essential to note that Jesus did not term it as the golden rule but the verse is perceived as important due to its summary of love and unselfishness. Naturally, the human heart is selfish not because it is in mankind’s desires to feel good about themselves (Fabbrini, 1). In the field of ethics, the golden rule is also referred to as the ethics of reciprocity implying that human beings should seek to treat others – with consideration, tolerance, and compassion similar to how they would like to be treated (Gensler, 2). When it comes to governing a nation, the golden rule pertains to government spending affirming that the government should avoid borrowing money for personal gain, rather, they should borrow to fund investments that will benefit future generations. The paper analyzes whether or not the golden rule is applicable to the law of the United States.
Body
Humanists embrace the golden rule due to its universality since it is derived from experience and human feelings as well as its requirement of treating other people with love and respect. Notably, the golden rule plays a significant role in moral decision-making. Some people argue that the golden rule is ineffective since not everyone wants to be treated the same way when faced with a similar situation (Humanism, 1). However, it is essential to understand that the golden rule is not a hard and fast rule that people are required to abide to in every detail of life, instead, it is referred to as a general moral principle. Treating people the way we would want to be treated does not necessarily imply that everyone feels the same way in a particular situation (Humanism, 1). On the contrary, it demands the acknowledgement that other people are human beings with emotions and a right to opinion. The golden rule upholds the rule of empathy: empathy builds the foundation of respect, understanding, kindness, and compassion (Humanism, 1). As much as it is associated with Christianity, the Golden Rule is applicable to other religions such as Islam and Hindu as well as cultures to solve any form of conflict.
As aforementioned, the golden rule in nations seeks to enforce limited borrowing for the sake of protecting future generations from debt. By definition, fiscal policy is the utilization of tax policies and government spending to impact macroeconomic conditions such as employment, economic growth, aggregate demand, and inflation among others (Fabbrini, 1). Fiscal policy is a construct of Keynesian economics developed by John Maynard Keynes who was against the functionality of classical economics. The influence of Keynes’ ideas on the United States after the Great Depression led to the implementation of the New Deal which comprised of numerous social welfare programs as well as massive spending on public works projects (Fabbrini, 1). Unlike the United States, Germany and Switzerland implemented the golden rule which has led to a decrease in national debt. For instance, Switzerland’s spending growth has decreased to less than 2% since 2004 (Fabbrini, 1). Similarly, Germany implemented the golden rule which reduced the spending growth to less than 0.2% between 2003 and 2007. The European Union enacted a law that required members with debts more than 55% of the nation’s GDP to reduce their structural deficit to 0.5% of GDP (Fabbrini, 1).
The United States government has attempted to implement a golden rule in terms of spending. Notably, the constitution of the United States does not impose any checks and balances on government spending or does not require a balanced budget (Friedman, 13). It is vital to understand that the presence of budget surpluses in the United States’ government during Clinton’s administration were as a result of temporary policies such as spending reductions and tax increases. In 1985, the Congress tried to implement the golden rule to reduce spending deficits by passing the Gramm-Rudmann-Hollings bill (Friedman, 13). The primary objective of the bill was to provide a specific annual deficit target which if the government missed would influence a sequestration process automatically. By definition, sequestration refers to a process under fiscal policy which cuts the federal budget automatically across certain departments if the government spending surpasses a particular target (Friedman, 13). Regardless of the importance of the bill to the spending of the United States government, the rule was abandoned after the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional.
The United States Immigration law is complex and most people fail to understand how it functions. The immigration sector fails to implement the golden rule which leaves most immigrants and their families in an unprotected state (Peters, 109). Immigration to the United States is grounded on three primary principles: admitting immigrants with skills that are valuable to the United States economy, reunification of families, as well as protecting refugees. As per 2013, the body of law governing immigration policies, the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) provides that the yearly global limit of immigrants in the United States is at 675,000 with a close exception of family members (Peters, 111). Notably, the number of immigrants is separate from that of refugee admissions which is determined by the President and Congress. The issue under immigration lies with illegal or undocumented immigrants who are normally referred to as traffic violators rather than criminals (Peters, 126). However, despite the presence of a law that demands treating everyone with respect, some people such as police officers treat undocumented immigrants with disrespect by jailing them for no reason.
Usually, most undocumented immigrants enter the United States to find an employment opportunity to stabilize themselves and send money back home. In most circumstances, illegal immigrants in the United States end up having children who become U.S citizens by birth (Peters, 129). In the event of any occurrence, the parents are residing in the United States illegally while children are born naturally. Normally, children find their parents deported or jailed after coming from school. As of 2013, approximately 5,000 immigrants’ children are with the United States foster care since their parents were deported or detained (Peters, 131). The aspect of finding parents deported or detained while coming from school is a heart-breaking aspect. With about 11 million undocumented immigrants, imagining that a significant share has children that are likely to grow up without parents is a heart-breaking aspect. Deportation of parents breaks families that have no hope of reuniting (Peters, 136). The golden rule states that it is important to mind other people’s emotions and opinions. It is an unreasonable act while at the same time vital to respect human rights.
Conclusion
The understanding of the golden rule brings a new meaning to how mankind treat each other. While most people are convinced that the golden rule is applicable to Christianity, it is essential to understand that the golden rule is applicable to other areas of life. Different nations have tried to implement the golden rule especially with government spending to ensure that future generations are not left with a significant debt to pay. For this reason, governments implement restrictive fiscal policy measures that reduce government spending. Germany, Switzerland, and the European Union have taken significant steps towards ensuring their nations have a reasonable budget spending. The European Union enacted a law that required members with debts more than 55% of the nation’s GDP to reduce their structural deficit to 0.5% of GDP. The United States have attempted to implement the golden rule but it has proved to be unsuccessful. In 1985, the Congress tried to implement the golden rule to reduce spending deficits by passing the Gramm-Rudmann-Hollings bill whose objective of the bill was to provide a specific annual deficit target which if the government missed would influence a sequestration process automatically. In terms of immigration, Trump’s administration has constantly expressed its disregard for the immigrants from particular nations especially from South America nations. Therefore, it is proper to ascertain that unlike Switzerland and Germany, the United States cannot relate with the golden rule.