Flabbergasted…
I was driving to work after lunch.. and I overheard this bit on the radio.
Caller: Well what about the people who don’t put into their retirement funds and have no money? What about the people who choose or make poor decisions so when the time rolls around they can’t take care of themselves? The privatized social security you’re proposing would have nothing for them!
Guest: … yes. Yes, you’re exactly right.
Caller: But that’s horrible! Just because someone makes a mistake, or doesn’t take care of themselves that means they don’t get their retirement money?! The government should have a program to take care of them and distribute the wealth.
Guest: No, the government shouldn’t. That’s exactly the problem with the current social security system. It’s trying to redistribute wealth that isn’t there to people who have not contributed. Originally it was intended to be a sort of insurance policy, but it has grown far beyond that intent.
You can’t make money from no where. What you’re describing sounds an awful lot like socialism. There are plenty of socialist countries in the world, so if that’s what you’re looking for you should go live in one of them. We live in a republic, that means every person is responsible for their own well being. It is your personal responsibility to take care of yourself.
Caller: I don’t like the sound of that.
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. It’s bitterly ironic that the two polar opposites of the current political war in this country be so clearly defined, they so seldom come face to face in such a cut and dry way. Usually it’s hard to tell one side from the other, but there it is.
The irony is I’m frustrated that even the people I share ideals with usually don’t come right out and get to the heart of the problems like that: You are responsible for yourself.
.. and in the same conversation opposition comes out and says so blatantly what they want: The government should take care of us.
But there you have it. You can pander about all you want with semantics and programs veiling the intent. The main ideas are right there.
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