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In another lesson you learned about what would happen if there were no laws. In this lesson let's talk about "promoting the common good". What does this mean? In order for a law to be passed, it needs to be proven that its passage would benefit all people. Here are several examples:
An organized government is needed to make sure laws are passed, but it is needed for other reasons also. The government is needed to organize the different departments that provide services for the people. Some of the necessary services are hiring workers for the following departments that do the following jobs: Highway Department:
Sanitation Department:
Recreation Department:
So you can see, the city government makes and enforces laws that benefit MANY people within the city. It looks after the good of the common people. Now of course, all these programs cost money. And where does that money mainly come from? The money comes from taxes. Every city dweller pays at least two types of taxes, sales tax and city tax. Sales tax is collected every time you buy a non-food item. The higher the price you pay, the more sales tax is collected. A city tax is collected once a year, usually based on how much your house is worth. The more expensive your home, the more city tax you pay. Much of the money collected for those taxes pays for the services listed above.
promotes: works actively common: belonging to the whole community taxes: money people pay to the government so that it can perform public services dweller: one who lives there prohibit: not let happen
Copyright © 2001-08
Oswego City School District |
Definition
of Government: The laws and people that run a country,
state, county, city, or town. It protects the rights of
individuals and 
Mr. Jones wants pipes for city
water at his country home. His nearest neighbor is 3 miles away,
so there is no one around him who would benefit from the new
pipes. It would just be for his use. Installing the pipes
would cost taxpayers $100,000. Putting in these pipes would not be
"for the common good", it would only benefit Mr. Jones. In
cases like this, a law for the new water pipes would NOT pass, because
it did not benefit enough people. It is NOT FOR THE COMMON GOOD!
Here's
another example: Mrs. Smith likes to sleep until 11 AM everyday.
She wants a law passed that would prohibit people from mowing their lawn
before 11:00 AM. Her neighbors are all up by 8:00 AM and
want to mow their lawns before it gets too hot. If this law was
passed, would it be "for the common good"? Since
it would only benefit Mrs. Smith, it is NOT FOR THE COMMON GOOD!
Now
let's look at another situation: a new school is being built on a
street where there are many homes. The homeowners are
concerned that there will be lots more traffic with the new school
on the street, and they want the speed limit lowered from 55 mph to 30
mph. They argue that it will not be safe for the children who walk
to school. For the "good of the people" this law will
probably pass, because it applies to many people, not just a few.
It is FOR THE COMMON GOOD!
Here's one more situation: a factory that sits on a river is
polluting the water with its waste. The city's people want the
river kept clean for fishing and swimming. For "the good of
the people" the local government will probably pass a law that will
DEFINITIONS:
