social security – Zombies Uncensored

Remember the First Time Social Security went Bankrupt?

Ron Paul vs Chris Matthews on Hardball

Listening to Ron Paul and Chris Matthews debate the virtues of Social Security brought back memories of my grandmother and the first time Social Security went bankrupt. I remember my grandmother being glued to the news for several months as she nervously followed the developments in Washington D.C.

I was a kid and didn’t really understand my grandmothers concerns and frustration at the time. The thought of my grandparents not receiving Social Security would have meant they would move in with us. I loved my grandparents and relished the idea of living with them.

One day, Grandma was very upset. She threw up her hands, shook her head, and said, “They just mailed out the checks; they have no money, but they mailed the checks anyway.” Grandma thought it was incredible the government could function that way.

Grandma angrily went on. “Social Security, Social Security! They said, ‘You don’t have to worry, because you’ve got Social Security.’ We would have never sold our business if we’d known this was going to happen.”

They had sold their small business to their son-in-law, and at the time, it made perfect sense. My grandparents would have their needs taken care of by Social Security, and the business would still be helping to support their daughter’s family.

I saw firsthand how government programs create dependency and the resulting fear, frustration, and anger caused by mismanagement. I still resent the government for the suffering caused by catching my grandparents in their “security net.”

Sometime in the near future, millions of Americans will be reliving the pain my grandparents went through. On the plus side, there may be some very happy grandkids.

Remember the First Time Social Security went Bankrupt?

Ron Paul vs Chris Matthews on Hardball

Sometime in the near future, millions of Americans will be reliving the pain my grandparents went through. On the plus side, there may be some very happy grandkids.

Government Free Fantasy Pledge

This is what happens when you show up at a tea party with a “no medicare” pledge?

This pledge to stop using governmental programs is very popular with big government advocates. Underneath, the argument is quite simple: if you don’t like governmental control in one area, you should forgo governmental control in all areas.

It’s the updated version of “Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican.” The newer version is The Tea Party Pledge.

The main purpose behind the pledge is to label as “hypocrites” those who would halt the expansion or call for reducing the role of government. The implied argument is that if you think its wrong for the government to be in control of the items listed but do not abstain from using them, you can’t be taken seriously.

In essence, it’s asking people to act as though they live in a world that doesn’t exist. Government is involved with almost every aspect of our lives; it’s impossible to live government-free. The argument is tantamount to telling an environmentalist who complains about air quality to stop breathing.

Those calling for government to stop farm subsidies are not hypocrites for eating. An environmentalist calling for the elimination of fossil fuels isn’t a hypocrite each time they use a fossil fuel, because the fossil fuel free world does not exist. Calling for the reduction of government in a life dominated by government isn’t hypocritical, either.

The hypocrisy here is in ignoring how government has slowly taken away from people the ability to be self-reliant. The money for all the services government supplies comes from the people. A natural consequence of taking wealth from people is that they become dependent on the entity that now has control of their wealth.

The cruel nature of these attacks is especially clear when asking people to abstain from Social Security. Money taken from paychecks for Social Security throughout the years hinders individuals’ ability to save for their own retirement. These activists then have the nerve to call people hypocrites to accept some of their own money back from the Social Security system in order to survive.

These listed items in this pledge makes a very different point than intended: Government is too big–so big it’s clearly impossible to live without direct involvement in each of our lives.

Social Security: Wildly Popular and a Godsend?

This Week / Governors on Health Care

Ed Rendell compares the passage of health care reform to the passage of Social Security and Medicare; both were demonized at first, and are now a “godsend” to seniors.

It reminded me how often opposing views towards the changes in America’s health care system were dismissed, by pointing out that Social Security was at first met with similar opposition and is now “wildly popular” or a godsend.

It’s true: when the government returns your money, it is wildly popular! Income tax return checks are wildly popular, too. Unemployment checks are extremely popular as well. I guess it is important to point out times when government is magnanimous enough to give you your own money back!

In any other part of society, when someone gives you your own money back it’s not considered a godsend–it’s considered theft or fraud when you don’t get your money back. It’s only a godsend to get money back from an entity who has the power to take away money at will, under no obligation to give it back. As in a bully that takes a kids lunch money and “generously” gives some of it back later on.

Rendell does have it correct in describing Social Security as a godsend, because the definition of godsend is “something wanted or needed that comes or happens unexpectedly.” Any time the bully that is our federal government gives money back to the people they took it from, that is is a godsend.

Government has Munchausen syndrome when it comes to Social Security; the government takes your money away, making it harder to save for retirement, then pats itself on the back for saving you. They can’t be content with helping only those in need, and instead make everyone ill and dependent on government for the cure.

Social Security: Wildly Popular and a Godsend?

This Week / Governors on Health Care

Ed Rendell compares the passage of health care reform to the passage of Social Security and Medicare; both were demonized at first, and are now a “godsend” to seniors.