20121129 (J)
Journal: November 29, 2012
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Government                    Morality

                                                                Water, water everywhere
                                                                And all the boards did shrink
                                                                Water, water everywhere
                                                                Nor any drop to drink.

                                                                Coolridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", lines 119-122

“Pensions” are water, the salty water upon which the ship of state wanders adrift in the Sargasso Sea of caring. More generally, perhaps the salt water is the insatiable demand to “take care of those who can’t help themselves”, including the elderly. Thank you socialism. However I and most of the old are quite capable of self-support. A letter in this week’s paper claimed the writer’s father earned (in all caps in the letter) his pension and now that he died him mom deserves (again, in all caps) until she dies. Why?

First of all, how did he “earn” the money (labor, sustenance of other people). “Contributions” plus usury (interest)? I doubt it. Social Security covers about 10 years of earned “pensions”, after that it’s on someone else’s dime. But the “earned” myth persists and is the salt water which is death to drink.