Will you riot if your entitlements are cut? Question for Americans.

Originally posted by Bobaganoosh
They get a free pass by living in gated communities isolated from the rest of the peons. Having their investments tied up in non-tangible properties. For all purposes they are untouchable.

I would rather see a Martin Luther King Jr. or Vietnam era march on Washington than what is happening. What has happened is that many millions have fully bought in to the class warfare lie - this is why today's Democrats, in particular, are so dangerous and treasonous to this nation because they build their campaigns and elections off of class warfare. In the end Washington, which is the cause of class imbalances is given a pass and the people that have worked hard all of their lives to survive in this system are victimized. Its misplaced rage.

reply to post by ararisq

Will you riot if your entitlements are cut?

Riot? No.

But since I have paid into SS all my working life, I would be pretty angry if my government were to renege on the contract... which is another thing: its not an entitlement any more than is any insurance policy you pay for.

The word 'entitlement' is applied as a political tool to try and make people identify something they paid for, as something they get for free.

The term 'entitlement' when applied to this subject is, in a nutshell, B-S.

Again, no rioting. Why do I want to destroy the property of other innocent Americans? It makes no sense except when you're young, stupid, self-absorbed and poorly raised.

reply to post by ararisq


I couldn't agree with you more there. However it is what it is. We can't erase the stigma of wealth just as you can't erase the stigma of poverty.

Knowing that this cannot be changed we are left with little choice but to be absolute neutralists or pick a side.

I have more than alot of people I know. I don't let my personal belongings skew my sense of self worth. If I let the sum of my bank account measure me as a person then all of what I believe is lost.

I have worked for every scrap of my modest dwelling. I will defend it to the death, from brainless angry masses, or from a government that ignorantly believes I owe them something for the happenstance of being born here.

That is the side I have chosen. We all have this choice to make.

Kinda dorky ... but I would raid every Hastings/BooksAmillion I could find and fill my house to the brim with every book Ive wanted ... Oh yea and pet shops ... I gotta get me some ferrets

reply to post by redoubt


There is a substantial difference between Social Security and MetLife. An insurance company such as MetLife is a corporation. In the event of a disaster or crisis it would go in to bankruptcy and default on its responsibilities. This is the risk all of us choose to accept when we engage in business with an insurance corporation and why forcing an individual in to such a contract is morally reprehensible.

Social Security cannot default, despite their recent insistence that it would due to the ability of the Federal Reserve to engage in quantitative easing. In that case the money that you paid in to the system is not just stolen from those paying in to the system today but stolen from the people paying in to the system next year or for the next ten years and then as an additional side effect the money paid back to you is devalued.

I honestly do not understand how anyone can defend it. Yes, it helps a person pay their bill at the expense of every citizen alive and yet to be born.

Riot? No. Protest? Yes. Not that I think it would do one bit of good. But even protesting would be extremely hard for me to do since I wouldn't be able to afford to miss a day of work. Missing work means loss of income and Ill need every dime to support the people in my family that receive Social Security. I refuse to let anyone starve or go without their meds.

As many people said before me rioting is not the answer, but I do think its one of the few things that the government sits up and takes notice of. So maybe its a necessary evil??

Originally posted by TreadUpon
I think the biggest difference between Europe's poor and America's is that the poor in the US still think they be rich someday.

In Europe, it seems from here to me, whatever class you're born into is the class you'll stay. Getting rid of that notion is one reason America has been such a beacon to the world and that is probably why Europe's class struggles persist there.

This is a really good reply, I stand by your reply. stars for you. peace

Originally posted by lostsock
As many people said before me rioting is not the answer, but I do think its one of the few things that the government sits up and takes notice of. So maybe its a necessary evil??

No, absolutely not. Protest is legal. Rioting is not and plays right in to their hands. Look what will happen in the UK. Look what governments across the world do in response to rioting. Rioting will always result in loss of freedom. The US even engages in spying on citizens that protest - when the riots hit this country (and I believe they will and they'll make what happened in the UK look like a walk in the park) we will lose our freedom entirely. We'll be scanned, watched, questioned, and searched at every corner in random stops all across the country. The victims of the rioting will demand it. The government, which benefited in every conceivable way, will be all too eager to provide that level of protection and the United States will be finished.

I don't collect any government benefits of any kind.. I work for a living, I have two savings accounts, an IRA and a 401k, aside from those I also have a small investment account with Betterment which is actually down 4% since I started it thanks to the market turmoil, but when the market is down it's a good time to invest because when it rebounds, and it always does.. you'll have made more for buying cheap.

It's good never to have your money all in one place.. and to never expect government handouts! .. if I get my retirement benefits when I hit 65, or whatever it may be.. excellent, I will supplement what I've been saving already.. if not, well I should have planned better.. I see so many people wasting away their time doing jack but going out every weekend partying or buying the latest "thing" .. those are the people who will be most hurt by loss of entitlements, and will probably be those people who put less into the system to start with.

I also know yet another group of people that feign disability or psychological issues purely to ride the uncle sam gravy train which annoys me because they contribute nothing but take what those of us who are being productive have put in.

Yes it will be upsetting to realize how much I've been forced to invest into the social security system only to most likely never see the return I am owed for all that effort.. but I can't expect it to be there, not unless something changes.

Edit: Strike that, my Betterment account is only down 2% now since things are slowly improving.. still sucks to be down =)

my family dont collect entiltlements of any kind, we are unemployed with zero income nearing the end of our 401. It has been almost a year sense our income was lost. But, we will not ask for entitlements because we dont want that kinda life control handed over to the system. We manage, barely but we are better off then africa/simolians. It is almsot hunting season we will stock up on as much as we can. I have a garden going, someowo we will be fine. I do believe that the people accustomed to being on entitlements will riot. I Think the boomer generation will be affected the worse in the upcomming months and years. They stand to loose the most. peace

Originally posted by redoubt
reply to post by ararisq

 

Will you riot if your entitlements are cut?

Riot? No.

But since I have paid into SS all my working life, I would be pretty angry if my government were to renege on the contract... which is another thing: its not an entitlement any more than is any insurance policy you pay for.

The word 'entitlement' is applied as a political tool to try and make people identify something they paid for, as something they get for free.

The term 'entitlement' when applied to this subject is, in a nutshell, B-S.

Again, no rioting. Why do I want to destroy the property of other innocent Americans? It makes no sense except when you're young, stupid, self-absorbed and poorly raised.

my husband is 58, im 50, neither of us expect to get social security at the retirement age.

Originally posted by lbndhr
my family dont collect entiltlements of any kind, we are unemployed with zero income nearing the end of our 401. It has been almost a year sense our income was lost. But, we will not ask for entitlements because we dont want that kinda life control handed over to the system.

Thank God for people like you. The ability to sustain yourself is a critical skill to have. Good luck with everything and I am sure it will work out for you.

I think the word "entitlement" is used pretty loosely. I was forced to pay into my social security and pension funds to the tune of over 30% of my salary for about 40 years (Employee and employer contributions.) All told that was several hundred thousand dollars confiscated from me. If I had been able to simply put that same amount of money in market rate CDs for those 40 years, I'd have over a million dollars in the bank. Instead, the government doles it out to me a little bit at a time. If I don't live past my life expectancy, my money is forfeit to the state and my heirs never see it. If I'd been allowed to do it myself my heirs would get what's left of that million dollars.

Now you're telling me this is an "entitlement." No, it isn't. It's my money being returned slowly to me by a greedy government who would rather give it to people who never worked a day in their lives. They're gettinmg the entitlements--not me, and I have no doubt they would riot if they were cut off. That's why I don't live anywhere near them. They'll riot and steal from the retail stores of immigrants who speak little English, but still are willing to work for a living.

For myself, even if the government tries to reduce the amount of money it is slowly returning to me, I will not riot. I can take care of myself even if they disappear entirely. I will protect myself and fight violence with violence, but I will never go out and intentionally destroy something just for the sake of doing so. If you try to burn down my house, however, there is a better than even chance you will die in the attempt.

when wealth disparity reaches a boiling point, revolution occurs

You can make very rational and cold arguments on how a corporation that owns all the wealth of a nation made it legally and soundly, and how the multitudes of people whom eat dirt deserve that forever through countless generations and have strictly a few familys of extreme wealth amongst the peasants.

This is the natural order of economics in a free market...

Also, there is one thing to consider...after the first generation whom accomplished the corporate takeover of class, its just old money being exaggerated in the destruction of the synthetic middle class.

So, me personally? I would probably not join in due to the ability to grow veggies and fish and whatnot, however, I fully expect a time where, if all redistribution measures are removed, the only possible senario will be revolution...this is a simple and absolute fact...every nation in history that has had major class divides has ended in revolution and quite often the political defenders of said system executed (let them eat cake).

But feel free to provoke it...all good.
Whats needed is more redistribution to stimulate the economy and get people working...double food stamps to get grocers and farmers needing to expand, give people a "clothing" allowance also so some poor schmuck can get some new jeans and stimulate manufacturing..but also make sure to tariff the living hell out of companys oursourcing jobs and importing cheap crap..

However, this works also...push for a corporatist agenda and watch the torches eventually light up...you can bicker about how its a natural process and rightfully corporate owned wealth to a lynch mob I suppose, then the system will be yanked down and a new economy (perhaps with more foresight) will be established.

Either way, the long term effect is about the same...a stable and growing economy with a standard of living that actually is the talk of the town so to speak...

Personally, I don't want a street paved with gold while 400 other streets are paved in rusty metal and broken bottles...I want nice clean cement streets everywhere (hopefully some of you understand this aphorism)

reply to post by ManOfGod267


for someone with the name MAN OF GOD, then talking about STEALING, youre pretty much the hypocrite I avoid by not associating with organized religion.
To answer the OP's question, if they cut my VA bennies, no, I wouldnt go rioting or STEALING, I'd find another way to take care of myself and my own, which is why I am learning to hunt, skin and process game. I am a former EMT, so I can provide SOME limited self care.
I can do without a phone, internet etc. as long as I have my kindle or a book to read.
If people would put fourth the effort to provide alternate ways to take care of themselves, they wouldnt need to rely on handouts

reply to post by HomerinNC


Can you steal something you already paid for?

Sounds like reposession to me.

reply to post by SaturnFX


??? I dont understand

reply to post by HomerinNC


Everyone is a hypocrite when you think about it. What am I supposed to do? Sit idly and wait till everyone rebuilds and wait till the shops open? I think not.

reply to post by ManOfGod267


so you'll steal someone else's property to take care of yourself?
thats wrong and evil

reply to post by HomerinNC


Well I wouldn't say it was evil but it is wrong. But you have to survive. Are you going to say that every person who will steal anything during a riot?