Jan 22, 05 01:47 am — it seems we're (those of us american) are going to be facing possible change in social security with the second term of good ol' dubbya. he wants to privatize it, how do you guys feel? i'm even interested in how our foriegn friends feel about it because it is a fundamental issue. I tend to side with the politcal philosophies of Sumner that: social programs should be a helping hand not a hand out. i belive that there should be reform of it to minimize abuse and dependency of welfare and other programs but i am against privatization of them. how does everyone else feel? i'm sure that where you stand on this issue says a lot about how you view human nature as well.
I'm not clear on the whole 'social security' thing. Does that mean that when you get old, the government hands out money to old people so they can get free prescriptions and housing? Like medicare?
If it is then privatizing it is a wonderful idea. If it's run by the govenment it's going to be a peice of crap that we have to 'just live with'. If it's privatized then there's competition between companies. When there's competition then costs are driven down, better service, higher quality, etc. Not to mention all the jobs that are created and the boost to our economy. That's what America is all about: freedom to choose.
Now, i'm aware of how businesses work, however i'm not fully aware of how our government works. I understand that basically our government IS a business of sorts, but ignore that for a second. Does the government need to KNOW what people are paying for social security? For example, it's important for the government to know vehicle registration to track what is who's property and to work with law enforcement. What about a retirement fund though? If you ask me it's none of their business (however i do give them credit for inventing social security).
Also, I'm not sure how individual states handle social security. BUT, i do believe that this nation was founded state by state for a reason: so we have a choice as to how we want to live. So, i'm against the federal government having power over the state but I want the nation to hold together. I wouldn't want, say, California becoming it's own communist country so as not to be affected by Republicans.
Do I make sense?
Bbomb, why are you Against it? And don't say 'because I hate Bush'.
My thoughts are, if you get welfare you shouldn't have the privilege to vote, as you are not contributing to the system. After your second kid on welfare you should have mandatory sterilization, or have your baby's daddy pay child support , if unable he should be fucking sterilized too.
If you are not a U.S. citizen with a valid social security card or birth certificate, then you and your fucking illegal kids can't receive free medical nor a public education. It should be up to the schools and hospital to report these incidents, as they bitch the most about not having enough money.
Drunk and homeless should be made to work or "banned from the face of the earth."
Most important is stop helping the fucking world, take care of our country and our citizens first. Most of our fucking money goes to these dumbass, third world countries that breed like animals, no offense to animals, and they are fucking dying of AIDS and straving cause they can't stop fucking. So yea that my 2 .
With the "baby boomer" generation swiftly approaching retirement age, the social security system as we now know it, will cease to exist. It is already heavily in debt and there will not be enough workers contributing to the fund to support all of them. It will collapse. The only chance the rest of the working public have in any type of return or retirement out of the federal government, is allowing us to have a private account, to where the funds we put into it, are there for us when we need to take them out. I'm not saying we should abandon people of my parents age...they have put in as much as anyone In fact, I see a return to the practice of moving parents into the children's home when they become to elderly to support themselves. It may not seem like it's an option now, but I would start remodeling the garage if I were you....
[Comment was edited by dirkdiggler on January 22, 2005 at 12:42:18 PM]
i'm for it -- i'd really like to get some of that money that i've put in back when i get old.
AndyPandy
I hate the welfare state. Here teenage girls have 6 kids as they know they'll get a free house and about 40,000 a year without have to do a day's work.