Let me propose a question. If you make a contract with someone, and fulfill your end of the bargain, do you consider the other party’s end to be an entitlement?
Simple answer – NO – it is considered to be an obligation of the other party to fulfill their end. That is basic contract law, isn’t it? So why is it when we talk about it in the context of government we refer to them as “Entitlements”?
I pay my taxes, I pay a portion of them to Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. So why is it that whenever there is a so-called “Budget Shortfall” the FIRST thing the Republican Party wants to cut are these programs? These are programs I pay for!!! I am fulfilling MY obligation in the “contract” with the government, but for some reason we (we being the Working Class) are somehow spoken about as feeling “entitled” because we expect to have that contract fulfilled. WHAT?!?!?!?
In the last 30 years (basically my ENTIRE lifetime) the American Working Class has had their futures chipped away by bad policies that have the WEALTHIEST among us gaining a 275% increase in income – while those of us that actually WORK for a living have only seen a 20% increase (WHICH DOESN’T EVEN KEEP UP WITH COST OF LIVING!). That’s right – those that make the most (by FAR) and therefore need it least, have also had an increase that is 10 TIMES the increase of us that make the least (and NEED it the MOST!). But somehow we are the ones who are UNGRATEFUL and feel ENTITLED!
As it stands, I have no savings, and about $600 (not a typo) in my 401K and now I am supposed to look forward to having my Social Security benefits reduced, or if the Republican Party has it’s way – Taken away entirely. By the way when someone says “Privatize Social Security” (or the “Chilean Model” which is the SAME thing) what they mean is to TAKE AWAY the one guaranteed source of income that people like me will have and give that to Wall Street too!
Does anyone even remember 3 years ago – when Wall Street (and YES IT WAS WALL STREET) tanked the United States Economy, and thousands of people that were closing in on retirement had to totally re-think their futures because their 401K’s were virtually cut in half! Do we really want that to happen to Social Security as well?
I am so sick of people who get GOVERNMENT pay and GOVERNMENT Pensions and GOVERNMENT Healthcare (i.e. all the Representatives and Senators) talking about how WORKING CLASS people need to make more sacrifices. And they have the GAUL to continue funding LARGE Government SUBSIDES to businesses that reap ENORMOUS PROFITS while simultaneously claiming Poverty so they can Outsource Jobs and cut the Pensions of Working People – and so the Board Members can retire with “Golden Parachutes” – even if those Board Members tank the company they work for OR the ENTIRE ECONOMY in he process. But WORKING PEOPLE are supposed to suck it up and MAKE SACRIFICES.
It is simply time to change the system so that Working People have a future again and frankly those that have benefitted most from the policies of the Past 30 years need to give something back. Yes, we need to reform the tax code and remove loopholes, but we also need to make income from actually working worth AT LEAST as much as money gained from investing on Wall Street (in fact if anything Investment Income should probably be taxed at a slightly higher rate) unless that investment Directly (Let me re-peat that DIRCTLY) creates American Jobs and GIVES Back to Society. But also we NEED to have those that have profited MOST from our currently BROKEN system to be the ones that act a little GRATEFUL for their success – and not expect the rest of us Working People to instead bear the entire burden – which for us; means little to no chance of retirement, a lifetime of debt for things like School and Healthcare, and a Job that doesn’t even pay the Bills anymore.
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