Socialism probably is the fairest policy to adopt...

@Pherick I have 2 friends. White American Christian southern males... both come from upper middle class white families
they each have moderate mental illnesses.. one is bipolar and the other, I’m not quite sure

Either way, they each get full compensation from the government

I recently came into an investment opportunity that was sure to make money and has sense proven itself. I invited all my circle of friends to get into this investment early on... It’s life changing type of opportunity..

They both declined for the same reason:
The profits would mean they would no longer get benefits! 😱

Fuck those second rate benefits! You could be Rich it won’t matter!

They scoffed.


This is what happens to human beings in a welfare society...

Every word of this story is true. Every word.

@GardenSage Art,

I don't doubt your story, but from the outside, this doesn't look that odd. You wanted people on limited incomes to invest in an investment opportunity that you claim is "life changing". It sounds like a scam.

If I knew someone who did that, I would just shake my head and be dumbstruck by how gullible they were. I don't know how old these people are, but they might be looking at this like "lose my benefits now?" I still need them for another 30 years!

I am just saying that one view you have seems very clear, but from my side, it doesn't seem clear at all.

I know people personally as well, that have had good jobs, good lives, have had issues, fallen, needed the security net that welfare in all its forms provides, and then gotten back up on their feet.

Well I can see you’re using the lack of details in my story to cast some doubt... but these guys aren’t idiots and they aren’t poor.
In fact, one of them is able to save enough money every year to take an international 2 week vacation.

Last year he went to Puerto Rico.
They want to be taken care of. They enjoy not having to commit to the turmoil that we commit to every day which drives society.

Competition marginalizes people by design. But it DRIVES progress in any way you could imagine.

I put it to us to find new platforms for people like this to compete AND succeed instead of removing it for all of us. That should be our challenge.

@Pherick also, invest in digital currency.

@GardenSage I certainly don't have any interest in removing competition, as I said, I don't think pure socialism government would work.

I am casting some doubt on your friends here. I am not trying to be contrary, but no one I have ever met on benefits is living well on them. Its ALWAYS scraping by, not having enough money for the medications they need, or barely have money for groceries. No one I know on benefits is taking a 2-week vacation anywhere.

I would say that if you know people really doing this, they are cheating the system and are fucked up human beings. People that don't need the benefits they are stealing are a different matter entirely.

What I sense and fear is that socialism as Americans see it is a slippery slope that devolves into financial slavery and a bankrupt government.

@Pherick like I said these guys ARENT idiots... they are in essence scamming the government- they are scamming us

@GardenSage I certainly have no interest in supporting anyone who is cheating or stealing.

However, I do have an interest in keeping society at a certain minimum level. This isn't me being altruistic, this is purely selfish. A healthy, educated, well-paid workforce is good for everyone.

All the bad things god down when those things are true, and all the good things rise. Less crime, less poverty, less all the bad things that come with crime and poverty.

I don't understand in a capitalist system, we are OK with the CEO of Toy's R' US getting a multi-million dollar golden parachute while he rides his company into bankruptcy and the workers get nothing.

@Pherick would you say if welfare has grown so bloated that 2 moderately ill but highly capable white, middle upper class, males could take advantage of it, then it must no longer be at its most minimal?

@GardenSage I would say they are cheating and the system might need to be fixed. I don't think that means the system is beyond hope or hasn't and will continue to help people.

@GardenSage I don't really understand the welfare argument. Sure people abuse it but there's also homeless people who work [b]full time[/b] jobs and still can't get an apartment.

In some parts of California they have a requirement that you have to make at least double that of your rent. One room efficiencies are about 1,800.

A car to rent requires good credit or 300 monthly at least. Cars are about 50,000 to own, houses are about 50,000 (at the very least) or at least double that if you're paying rent.

Unless you want to live in the hood, then maybe you can get a small room in a crack house somewhere. I'm mean shit I guess one does what they have to do but everything isn't just all peachy.

@Pherick Just for no reason I decided to look into tiny homes (I think their cute lol) and wondered how much they were. They were as high as 100,000 and as low as 12,000 (without toilets or any other expenses.) And you'd still need land which is about another 100,000 dollars.

Like....

There seems like there's no options for people.

Abraham Maslow, Hierarchy of Needs. @Pherick