I am sure we all think it would be great, other things being equal, to try to make many of life’s unfairnesses less … problematic. But most grown-ups understand (or used to) that “life isn’t fair” is a truism for a reason.
So when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized his competing GOP hopefuls for wanting to reform Social Security and other so-called “entitlements,” I was unimpressed.
“Every Republican wants to do a big number on Social Security,” Trump said last year, referencing Medicare and Medicaid as well. “And we can’t do that. And it’s not fair to the people that have been paying in for years and now all of the sudden they want to be cut.”
Not fair.
Well, yeah.
But the unfairness is not in fixing the system by raising retirement ages, etc. The real injustices lie in the past, with previous fixes and … “unfixes” — that put us in the fix we are currently in.
And not fixing it now will lead to further, more obvious “unfairness” in the future.
Trump is just avoiding responsibility. By not addressing the problem honestly, we do not make things or keep things fair. We make things worse.
Peter Suderman notes that Chris Christie’s endorsement of Trump, last week, puts the lie to the New Jersey governor’s much-ballyhooed seriousness about entitlement reform.
Well, yeah.
But no major politician wants to handle it. For the problem shows how deep the unfairness runs in the American system.
That would require real leadership.
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5 replies on “Unfair Reform?”
Trump: His arrogance is only exceeded by his ignorance. I am trying to decided where he fits in top 5 worst Presidents and contenders. of all time. But truly few politicians address real problems and articulate real solutions.
Absolutely correct, the real issue in politics is the total forth of the leadership to confront known problems forthrightly. This has created the addiction of the present national leaders to deficit spending which must weaken the country and enslave the future generations.
The critical reform is a balanced budget amendment, coupled with a return of the federal government’s adherence to the core functions, the actually and specifically enumerated, only.
That, though painful, will be nothing in comparison to the issues raised by a continuation of present course.
Let’s pick one of the several candidates who takes the 10th Amendment seriously. 🙂
When it comes to social security and every other welfare outlay, the working people of the USA have been totally screwed. The real problem is corrupt politicians and an ignorant unthinking public.
As for Trump, yes he is arrogant and officious. Also terribly successful and is just a skosh more honest than all the other, reps and dems. In the valley of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
Decry the lack of leadership all you want, but what has been the result of serious proposals to reform entitlements? Those who propopse them are called ‘heartless’ and defeated at the polls. Until the American people realize that things need to change or the government can no longer borrow money (whichever comes first), nothing will change. Since 1983, workers have been pre-paying for Social Security. (Correct me if I am wrong, but I remember being told we had to build up surpluses for when boomers retired. This required us, unlike previous generations, to contribute more than was needed to pay current benefits) Before the first boomer retired, Congress spent every penny of that money, and more. So much for the Social Security ‘surplus’. Why would I believe anything any politician proposes now to ‘fix’ entitlements?