"Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!" ("From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.") --Karl Marx, Critique of the Gotha Program, 1875.
It seems we have the whole "...to each according to his need" part down pretty well here in the US, but what about the "From each according to his ability..." part? Is modern Progressivism just a form of reward without responsibility? Why do we provide for people who don't produce? Why do we fail to expect production? Is this reasonable? Doesn't it erode society by promoting entitlement and dependence while discouraging industriousness?
Shouldn't we consider programs like Roosevelt's TVA initiative to replace our modern welfare system? If we're going to give away government money, shouldn't it be in the form of paychecks instead of welfare checks?
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ReplyDelete--I agree completely with the comment - but I think it should be balanced with "When did having it all start being the goal?"
--And if you ever did have it all, what would you do with it? Where would you find another challenge?
--And where would you keep it? However, there are many awesome challenges that don't require 'having' or possessions.
--I was thinking of "having" as having had those experiences...
--Here's one for you... We've got the whole "to everyone according to their need" thing down pretty well, but what about the "from everyone according to their ability" part? Is modern progressivism a form of reward without responsibility? (I really do need to start that blog!)
--Where is reward without responsibility ever noted as a platform or policy of a responsible political party or ideology? Obviously that in untenable and unsustainable. And what is 'modern progressivism'? Also - I disagree with your premise that we have the "to everyone according to their need" down. Seriously... Not a FB wall conversation obviously. ;)
I agree completely. Recently talked with a business owner that spoke with representatives in Michigan Congress. He owned a construction company and was looking to hire people currently on welfare. His proposition was to pay for half of the welfare in exchange for putting the individuals to work for his company. The idea was shot down and wasn't even given a second thought. Why don't we focus on getting these people back to work instead of raising generations of welfare babies. it's these kind of common sense approaches that would fix the productivity issue in this country. I personally don't get it
ReplyDeleteAlso, unemployment data shows that we are suffering from structural unemployment, not cyclical or frictional. Unemployment for college graduates with a bachelor's degree or higher is under 4% and there is approximately 3 million jobs that employers have been trying to fill for 6 months or more but haven't been able to because of the lack in a skilled workforce. Why don't we focus on putting these people back to school so they can be productive again. Giving people handouts for nothing in return goes against every kind of sensible economic policy out there, and I highly doubt there is anyone with a firm grasp on how the economy works would disagree with me
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point, Dillon. We do have a lot of available jobs in this country, but they are in highly specialized fields, especially the sciences.
ReplyDeleteWe used to hire a lot of foreign students into engineering, medicine, chemistry, etc. Now a lot of these professionals are returning to their home countries, leaving us without Americans to fill those positions.
Meanwhile, our kids are studying psychology, sociology, law, and journalism without ever looking into how difficult it is to find a good job in these fields.