Thursday, December 28, 2017

Tick Tock on Entitlements

Having passed a bill that will undoubtedly raise the deficit significantly we are soon going to here the Republicans calling for entitlement reductions.

Now with the mid terms coming in November, they may hold off our of political expediency, not human decency.

Many Republicans aren't in favor of things like Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, Food Stamps, etc. since they take money from people who have it and give it to people who don't.

A lot of people think Social Security is self funded and it looks that way on paper, but it is progressive, meaning the very poorest get a lot more than they paid in while the wealthiest don't.

So similar to the recent health insurance attack, Republicans simply talk about making it optional, let people put the contributions into savings or investments.

We know that doesn't work since if you struggle to buy groceries and pay the rent, you aren't investing in BITCOIN.

Social Security isn't going to make anyone wealthy but it does provide a bit of a cushion to those who need it the most, as well as a sense of dignity.

These are two things that Republicans simply don't care about.

In the normal course of human activity, left to a pure capitalist system or anything like it, some will get very rich but most will just get poorer.

So is Government supposed to protect the rich from the poor, or the poor from the rich?

In the first scenario you stop the idle poor from robbing the rich.  If they are poor they are of course idle, even if they work multiple jobs.

Let them work harder or depend on charity.  In a Christmas Carol the ultimate Republican is typified by Scrooge's attitude about the poor or his clerk, who used a holiday to rob him of a half day of wages.

Tick Tock, if we re-elect these folks, watch out.

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