July 31, 2011

Entitlements

I'm getting about fed up with all this talk about "entitlement" programs and how they need to be cut as part of a responsible debt management. Every American who works pays into Social Security and Medicare. Retired people paid into these programs their entire careers. They trusted the government to hold their retirement savings. Unfortunately, some of them voted a bunch of Republicans into office who spent part of the money and now they say they aren't ever going to pay it back. That means the government robbed my parents and is refusing to make it right. They have the nerve to tell my parents, who worked hard and saved responsibly all their lives, that they're spoiled children for expecting to get what they earned.

They repealed Glass-Steagall so my Mom's retirement was cut in half by the stock market collapse. They ruined the housing market by artificially inflating home prices and causing a bubble. Now my parents equity in their home is substantially cut as well. These are two people who did everything by the 1960's book of responsible financial management and now they're going to be lucky if their insurance lasts out their lives.

Entitlement my ass. Republicans think that they are entitled to all the money and everyone else can shine their shoes.