Pyrrhic Victory
One of my parents is a pensioner and their attitude towards money is that &quot;I earned it, and so it&#x27;s my money,&quot; regardless of whether that money is in their accounts or in their monthly check. They really do view all of that money which comes to them as being an entitlement which is already funded, and not part of an ecumenical system of money.<p>&gt; I have very clear memories of the political battles of the 1980s and 90s when my parents’ generation were in their prime working age. They demanded two contradictory things from government. First, they wanted their taxes reduced dramatically. Second, they wanted all the perks and services they were already receiving.<p>I can&#x27;t put it any better. The government, to my parents and collateral relatives (uncles and aunts), is simultaneously evil for taking Social Security taxes from paychecks, and also good for paying out Social Security to them, but they don&#x27;t register the cognitive dissonance.<p>&gt; So instead the gap was filled with debt, unrealistic future promises, attrition, and a can that was kicked down the road. Society went way out on the risk curve in search of “growth” that didn’t actually exist anywhere but on paper.<p>Yep. The idea that Social Security is paying it forward (or paying it backward) is just too tough.<p>&gt; The meme will be simple and palatable. These were benefits that were earned from years of hard work. These are the deserving recipients of what is due them. That’s completely different from just handing out fake cash to random slackers and wastrels who squander the money on Netflix and Amazon Prime without contributing to society.<p>I can hear the sarcasm in the author&#x27;s inflection. And I can also hear its stark effectiveness in my parent&#x27;s complaints.