Posted by orwell at 4.21.161.242 on November 07, 2002 at 11:25:41:
In Reply to: Finished? posted by Donnacha on November 06, 2002 at 19:59:06:
: You're a free man, you're free to spend the money you earn, you're free to
:get a better job, you're free to do SO much. HOW are you a slave?
There are people who *have* to spend money they barely have on such things as health care and food for their children. If they can't, then their children are left helpless.
When you are slaving yourself to make ends meet, it is difficult and near impossible to better your job situation. Bettering oneself requires time and effort. People working 2 jobs to support their family do not have time.
People are not free. You HAVE to pay incredible amounts to be educated so that you can make a decent living (if you can find a job) so that you can work 40+ hours for 60 years so that you don't end up in the shittiest of nursing homes. People are slaves. Our lives are spent trying to escape suffering.
No, the government shouldn't be the king of us all, but it should be able to help those who need help. But it's easier to blame the poor for their situation. Why should the rich have to spend THEIR money when it can be making them even more money. It's been said that about $2,000,000 is about as rich as any one man needs to be. Anything over that really doesn't add much to one's standard of living. Anything over that could be handed back to the community.
: Sure, there are problems. I'm not going to lie or ignore the facts. But
:they are problems that exist everywhere, be that country capitalist,
:socialist or communist.
So why don't we try to find a better way?
: Deal.
Just live with it? Yeah, why try and better ourselves? we can just sit back and 'deal' with a situation in which we endlessly work to ensure that ourlives are only partly shitty with a chance of rain.