[Rainbow Crow]

I do believe that strong moral values in a community can reduce the need for government spending on some social services.

What I don't understand is this... don't you improve moral values first and then cut social services? Why would you cut social services first?

[EastCoastAmerican]

Some questions for your proposition:

1. What would you define as strong moral values?

2. How would you instill these values in the community? Would you use the government, or rely upon alternatives like churches and the media?

The reason many American conservatives want to cut government spending first is that many of them believe that lower taxes and less spending inevitably leads to prosperity. They trust the corporations to create jobs by paying out of their own wallet, and they believe that a large government will almost never spend taxes in the proper way. Another reason is that they believe that cutting off social services will encourage people to become independent and seek alternatives; a disturbing amount of Republicans believe that almost all poor people are that way because they're lazy or don't work hard enough.

The values of a community can have an effect on welfare, but this is often expressed through their government as well. Scandinavian countries have a large emphasis on gender equality, providing for the common good, and a high value on education, and these things are enforced through the government. Taxes are high, but many Scandinavians are fine with this arrangement. Another example is Japan: they too have a high value on education, and their nation has a thriving economy and is a giant in the car manufacturing industry.

My $0.02