| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Lactate Intolerance | ||||
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No one likes entitlements more than the right-wing, provided only that they're the ones getting the benefit. For everyone else, entitlements are a complete waste, if not actually sapping a person's moral fiber.
Jon Stewart: "See, this is the problem with entitlements. They're really only "entitlements" when they're something other people want. When it's something you want, they're a hallmark of a civilized society, the foundation of a great people. I just had a baby and found out maternity leave strengthens society, but since I still have a job, unemployment benefits are clearly socialism."
I posted about this same thing once before, when a right-wing politician in New Jersey asked to be fired, when he was asked to resign, because he wanted to collect unemployment benefits. Yeah, the government can't do anything right, and unemployment benefits are sapping our nation's moral fiber,... except when you need them yourself. Then it's, "But I've got a mortgage and everything..."
And as long as I'm on this subject, here's another thing. We call Social Security and Medicare "entitlements," as if those lazy old people are just asking for handout. Hey, call an insurance company if you want health care!
But in reality, they've been paying into the Social Security system for their entire working lives. And actually, middle and lower class people have been paying a higher percentage of their income than high-earners, since there's an income cap that lets wealthier people stop paying the tax that everyone else pays throughout the year.
And now, after they've payed into these programs for 50 years or so, we want to sneer and call these programs "entitlements," as if they're just a giveaway to lazy people?
Let's remember why we've got these entitlements. We're a wealthy society. Don't we want to be a civilized one, as well?
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