Re:Economic Pessimism Growing in U.S.
by throwaway0a5e on Tuesday May 31, 2022 @04:26PM
(#31574501)
The obscene rents being in government coffers is somehow magically better than in some billionaire's bank account? You can make bullshit ideological arguments about the intrinsic goodness of one or the other all day but the fact of the matter is that any system of providing for retirement other than literally just saving up resources (which would be horrendously wasteful) and then spending them over retirement is going to necessitate contributions by currently productive members of society. Money has to flow from worker to grandma somehow. And there's always intermediaries. And they always take a cut. Maybe it's you that's not that original.
> retirement is going to necessitate contributions by currently productive members of society
That is the point.
> And there's always intermediaries. And they always take a cut.
Should they not be compensated for their productive work?
> Maybe it's you that's not that original.
That is the point.
Re:Economic Pessimism Growing in U.S.
by WkndTriathlete on Tuesday May 31, 2022 @08:25PM
(#31576569)
When the Social Security trust fund runs out you're going to find out really quickly that this "wild idea" doesn't work for the same reason Marxist Communism fails in the real world: you can't get the majority of a population to genuinely and altruistically operate within that system, especially when unexpected or abnormal events occur, like the baby boom or periodic market crashes.
To answer you first question/comment (because you are not as original as you think you are): That is why robust electorate, transparent public governance, and durable anti-corruption institutions are so important.