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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: epicure who wrote (188356)	5/6/2012 12:48:34 PM
From: koan	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 541654

As I preach to the right wingers: "you live in a society". How that society treats the young, old, and disabled defines it. Europe is much more socialized and my friends tell me much more civilized than we. You don't really want the old people living on subsistence. When people get old and sickly subsistence becomes much harder. I have taken care of many old people who just could not do it all on their own for one reason or another. In general, the difference just between 65 and 70 is huge in how one feels. Wait and see. As I am guessing I am older than you let me tell you what you don't know yet. After about 65, people start to hurt a lot. From just being old. Joints seize up ( a natural process whereby there is less efficient lubricant ), wear out and are ravaged by arthritus. Plus many other maladies arise making work very painful. Our society is perfectly capable of providing a decent retirement and health care for the old and without taking from the kids. Increases in technology should be leading to less work and retirement at younger ages not more. And it is the kids responsibility to take care of the old. I am 70 and work 6 days a week full time. I have a job that allows me to mostly sell information on an easy schedule, but I hurt a lot and it is not easy. One hip replacement, two bad knees and arthritis throughout my body. And I am better off than most. <<But that's not a bad thing. It's good if left and right can agree on something. I am NOT "generous" with other people's money- which is what taxation is. I consider it a giant insurance scheme (which I like) and i want everyone taxed more, so we can do the things we want, and keep society from being absolutely cruel- as it is in some countries without safety nets- but I don't want taxes spent in ways that I consider wasteful, or which enrage younger workers. I am not a perfect lefty Koan. I am a mix of beliefs. I really do not fit well in to either side. But you can take some comfort in the fact that young people are not angry enough, and not organized enough, yet, to do what they need to do. But they will be, if old people don't wise up a little.