Quote:How is it moral to require Citizen A who stayed in school, didn't do drugs or get pregant, learned a trade, and became a useful member of society and prepared for his retirement to support Citizen B who didn't?
The argument you are making here shows how you really feel about SS. That those who are poor, are poor because it is their own fault. They have no money to retire, and it is
always their fault.
This is a horrible argument, as it ignores the vast number of people who are destitute through little or no fault of their own.
Here's a few examples, that I am
personally acquainted with, b/c it's either my family or our close friends going through it:
- Flood, fire, natural disaster. Many people lose everything in these cases, and don't get shite from the Fed. disaster relief programs (which pay far disproportionate amounts to the rich areas and in many cases almost nothing to the poor areas which are affected). The neighborhood I grew up in was badly flooded a few years ago; some people lost everything, as we were on a 'hundred-year flood plain' and flood insurance just wasn't available for a lot of people, who summarily had to liquidate their savings just to survive. Was that their fault, Fox? I'd like a specific answer.
- Sickness. You should know as well as anyone how major illness can completely eat up a family's financial resources as they desperately try to keep themselves alive. A child's sickness can completely wipe savings out as parents spend the years they SHOULD have been saving for college and retirement dealing with the health problems of their child.
When it comes down to hugely expensive operations to save the life of your child, or retirement, what do you do? Of course, you pick the child. Are these people responsible? Was that their fault, Fox? I'd like a specific answer.
- Economic hardship. I personally know many families who were heavily invested in Enron. Now they have nothing. Was that their fault, Fox? I'd like a specific answer.
You, like many of your political bent, like to ignore hardship in people's lives and blame their problems on, how did you put it? Pregnancy and lack of education. Right.
The fact is, whether you want to admit it, Fox, the only reason you are able to live your comfortable life and type in front of a neat computer to debate such things is b/c of the sacrifice of many, many, many people who aren't as fortunate as you. We all have a responsibility to help each other out in society. To pretend that you yourself haven't been assisted,
every single day, by folks less fortunate than you in some way or another, is to completely live in a fantasy world. Seriously.
And what do you propose we do with people who have no funds to retire upon, but not because they were pregnant or lazy but because of circumstance? Let 'em starve? I'd like to hear what your solution is.
I somehow doubt you will be able to give me specific answers on how it is those people's fault that they no longer have retirement monies...
Cycloptichorn