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Guest Post: Our Many Layers Of Entitlement
Submitted by Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds
Our Many Layers of Entitlement
The entitlement mindset includes much more than government benefits programs.
The word entitlement commonly refers to government benefits to which we are entitled as taxpayers and/or citizens/residents. But there are layers of entitlement in the American psyche far beyond government benefits programs.
Let's start with the government benefits entitlements. The programs most people refer to as entitlements are Social Security and Medicare, which taxpayers pay for with payroll taxes (even if the money just goes into one giant Federal pot).
Beyond these "I paid into them" entitlements are the "welfare" entitlements of Medicaid, Section 8 Housing, SNAP/food stamps, etc., which are paid out of general tax revenues and which are available to anyone who qualifies, regardless of their status as taxpayers.
Buried within Social Security is another large entitlement program for the disabled and dependents (widows and orphans).
Veterans are entitled to benefits as a result of their military service, as are their families.
Employers pay for other employment-related entitlements: Federal and state unemployment, workers compensation and disability insurance, etc.
The entitlement mindset is thus firmly established in the American psyche. If we experience bad luck and/or the negative consequences of poor choices, we have been trained to expect the government at some level to alleviate our suffering, cut us a check or otherwise address our difficulties.
The poisonous problem with the entitlement mindset is intrinsic to human nature: once we "deserve" something, then our minds fill with resentment and greed, and we focus obsessively on creating multiple rationalizations for why we "deserve our fair share."
Eventually this leads to a government that has been reduced to a competitive stripmining operation in which the spoils are divided up amongst the most politically powerful Elites: in other words, the government we now have.
The entitlement mindset atrophies self-reliance, adaptability and flexibility, all key survival traits. If the government will "fix" our health, we no longer feel responsible in the way one does if there is limited government/employer-provided healthcare. If we expect our Social Security retirement regardless of what other conditions may be affecting the global economy or our nation, then we stop being responsible for managing our financial affairs in the same way as one does when there is no "guaranteed" retirement entitlement.
The question isn't whether entitlements are a "right" or not, the question is their sustainability now that the demographic, financial and energy foundations of those promises has eroded. Clearly, the government has a role in providing for public health and safety, but to claim that entitling every citizen to hundreds of thousands of dollars in healthcare is "public health" spending is absurd.
Based on projections of high-birthrates/cheap-oil/high-growth in the 1940s - 1960s, entitlement programs were promised basically forever, with no recognition that conditions might change. Now conditions have changed, demographically, financially and in terms of energy input costs.
We might usefully think of the government as a ship in a sea governed by forces too planetary to influence: the tides, currents, winds, etc. Entitlements are essentially a claim that the small ship of government "should" be able to bend the sea to its will, regardless of what tidal forces, winds and currents are at work.
we can claim it's our "right" not to sink, but gravity and the ocean do not respond to our claims of permanent "rights."
But these direct government entitlements only scratch the surface of our sense of entitlement. We don't just expect healthcare and retirement; if we're honest with ourselves, don't we also expect these other entitlements?
1. Cheap and abundant fuels and energy. We can debate whether this constitutes an implicit "right" or an entitlement, but the point is that Americans expect unlimited fuels and energy at low cost, and if cheap, abundant energy vanishes then they will demand "somebody make this right," with the "somebody" presumably in government and certainly not the individual American or his community.
2. Ever-more government services and benefits, i.e. the entitlement mindset knows no bounds.
3. Full employment and bountiful employment opportunities. If we can't find a job or create value that someone is willing to pay/trade for, then the government should create jobs out of thin air.
There are only two ways to fund "make-work" jobs: either take more money from existing wage-earners via taxes and redistribute the funds to potentially unproductive uses, or print/borrow the money into existence. Both have costs in terms of the productivity surplus of the entire nation and in the potential to destabilize the financial foundation of the economy.
4. An education suited to the demands of a global economy, etc., as opposed to providing the basic skills of learning, so the citizens can educate themselves throughout life. This distinction is lost in the endless debates over education, but in fast-changing environments and times, the only real value of any education is to learn how to learn. Though it seems "impossible" to the Status Quo educator, the world we are preparing students for--one dependent on consumer spending, cheap oil, globalization, ever-expanding government and healthcare costs, exponentially increasing debt to pay for everything, etc.--may not exist in 5 or 10 years.
5. An upper-middle class lifestyle for everyone who does what the Status Quo expects: get a graduate-level university degree, sacrifice for the corporation, remain politically silent/passive, etc. The idea that toeing the line will not result in a big-bucks secure profession/career is somehow a violation of the social/financial contract of Corporate America--once again, a right or an entitlement that is implicit in the American psyche.
6. Cheap and plentiful food. Once again, if food costs actually rose to "percentage of income spent on food" levels found in developing-world nations, Americans would undoubtedly demand that the "government do something." Once again, this is like demanding the ship's crew change the winds and tides. As oil prices rise, food costs will rise. There is no way out of this, as the primary input of agricultural costs is oil and petroleum-based fertilizers, chemicals, transport, etc. extremes of weather can ruin crops regardless of policy.
7. That the U.S. should be able to influence other nations to act in what we perceive as our best interests. The idea that we cannot persuade/force others to do what benefits us is anathema to the general entitlement mindset, e.g. "what's our oil doing under their sand?"
There are undoubtedly many more layers of implicit entitlements, and the analogy that comes to mind is a worm-riddled, leaky wooden-hulled sailing ship approaching a coral reef. The only way into the relative calm of the lagoon beyond is to lighten the ship enough to pass over the reef, or the sand bar on the other side of the lagoon.
If the ship sails on fully loaded with the heavy baggage of the entitlement mindset, the reef will either rip out its bottom or the ship will be wedged on the sand bar, where the waves will break it apart.
In other words, the destruction of the ship is guaranteed in either scenario. The only possible way to save the ship and its passengers/crew is to throw most of the inessential baggage overboard. Everything that the passengers "can't live without" will doom them if it isn't jettisoned, and soon. Once the hull has been shredded by the coral reef, or the hull is stuck on the sand bar, it will be too late: jettisoning all the financial "rights," entitlements and "essentials" will not save the ship or its crew/passengers.
The entitlement mindset is heavy baggage indeed, and the emotional content of the baggage-- resentment, anger, and a debilitating focus on "what I deserve"--is toxic to the traits we will need in abundance to weather the decade ahead: flexibility, adaptability, open-mindedness, experimentation, community and self-reliance.
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4. An education suited to the demands of a global economy, etc., as opposed to providing the basic skills of learning, so the citizens can educate themselves throughout life. This distinction is lost in the endless debates over education, but in fast-changing environments and times, the only real value of any education is to learn how to learn.
This is the key...And, somehow, one needs to develop one's creativity, which has likely been purposely 'unlearned' by unintentional or intentional (I opt for the later) teaching methods and curriculum.
I never played the game...I thought and planned to get out of public school as fast as I could by graduating early. I also refused to select a major in college when it became mandatory. I never thought these benfits would be available to me when the time came. My parents worried about me over the years. They are even more worried for me now...The state of the economy, no spouse for security, unable to play the employment game within corporations or governments.
I have always been a rebel and now I will pay an even greater cost...for my impudence. No matter how correct I was in my thoughts and actions!
this is jut so much more disappointing bullshit drivel and frankly better suited to business insider or fox news than ZH. all one needs to do is look at the mcjobs lottery earlier this year where over 1 million "entitlement driven" Americans competed for 50,000 low paying, dead end jobs to see that this hack lacks any street level perspective. I also notice the author conveniently leaves out the largest (by far) beneficiaries of government, or more accurately forced taxpayer charity and who it is right now that is waiting with both hands out for the next round of cash entitlements.
Charles Hugh Smith, you sir, are full of shit.
b.s.
one needs to "apply" to show that they should still be on the take from the gvt handout.
out of those million , i would say 99% were not skilled and/or would not have taken the job had it been offered.
It's a scam on both side and yeah that's street bro.
I mean how many REAL estate pros and/or nail/hair slugs does Google need to hire anyways????
deep street.
"99% were not skilled and/or would not have taken the job had it been offered."
Wow so many assholes on here are all-seeing, all knowing. So much love for their fellow citizens who have fallen on hard times... yeah let's blame the unemployed.
How about CEOs entitled to multi-million dollar salaries and golden parachutes? Can't tax them? No way, they DESERVED IT. Yeah, entitlement indeed.
How about the fat American in their 5 ton SUV entitled to drive 50 miles a day wasting 100s of gallons of gas so they don't have to walk further than to their driveway?
It always makes me laugh that the poor and needy are the ones that are attacked about being entitled, as if they are the lazy and shiftless ones.
Last I checked, Mr Christie weighs over 500 pounds. HYPOCRISY AT ITS BEST.
You want to talk CLASS WARFARE, this blog is CLASS WARFARE.
Fuck you. Go back to Yahoo! or MSNBC.
or stay and learn from all kinds of "classless" commentators.
dope everyone is middle class so all is ok , righto.
talk about koooooooolllllllllllllllllaid!
bwhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
They always go after the poor programs in recessions and depressions.
What is never layed out in these kinds of arguments is HOW to ease entitlement programs without causing millions to die.
Another factor: they always talk about social security, and imply that people need to create their own retirement plans (and it must be assumed they are talking about gambling on wall street). Yet, any retirement one saves for, outside of social security, can always be wiped out...Which is going to happen here in short order, I think.
What these people are missing is the "type" of societies we live in today. They are all based on high tech, computerized, and scientific advances. This requires an educated populace with advanced degrees. The problem lies in the educational instittutions that are failing to prepare the students for real life situations...practical, hands-on experience. This is why many times, a good two year technical degree will go farther for an individual than graduate degrees.
I have completed credits toward a masters degree, but have not finished because it was all book learning, nothing practical. Part of the Problem with politicians is they seem to think their Harvard Masters degree makes them more qualified; when in reality it just makes them more groomed on the U.S. model of "leadership" and "management" which are obviously way behind the times.
Bravo! You are intelligent. Old knowledge and skills will keep you alive and eating. Harvard degree will keep you paying and starving.
What should have happened, if the politicians and US citizens had been smart (which neither are), is a weaning from many of these programs. I don't think most Americans want to see 100% of it gone. Some of these programs actually help us all, such as programs for education (IF THE EDUCATION WAS GOOD). But just ending these programs without a PLAN is stupid and will cause many to die. Not just the poor but wealthy will be caught up in the fire also. People in gated communities will be targets, too, because societal breakdown does not pick and choose the victims, ALL EXPERIENCE it. An example is the Russian revolution, where wealthy people were shot and assets confiscated. Same will be here.
The level of idiocy in the U.S. is increasingly apparent, and that will grow as it all breaks up. These "free market" libertarians are just as ideological and utopian minded as the rest of the socialists, commies, fascists, and capitalists.
You can see the level of trash the U.S. is putting out when people are going about setting homeless people on fire, the population cheers mass slaughters overseas, the way elderly are spoken about (such as David Brooks article), and the degree of health in the youth (which is at all time low), and the way many of the people "look" which is toothless, fat, vacant look in their eyes.
The U.S. will collapse because the people are just as smelly and corrupt as their government. I'm American, I have to live around this daily. I've lived and traveled overseas and have NEVER seen the degree of sick people as the United States of America.
I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS CORRUPT NATION'S COLLAPSE. I support the break up of the nation into smaller nation states, also. Centralized governments and banks, that base the center of economy around a gambling hall on Wall Street, need to be crushed, and new and better models created. But the fuckers will all stand behind the globalist agenda, when they centralize this further as a "solution" to all this mess.....Expect much worse in the short term. Long term there is light, but that is a couple hundred years or more out.
bro .some places a full mouth of teeth will get you shot.
that hasn't changed for 100 years and i would rather be there than any of the Mcmansioned areas I have seen and I have seen a lot of them.
Fake estates fake people fake politics. blah blah blah.
O and lay off that BRUTE k!
"People in gated communities will be targets, too, because societal breakdown does not pick and choose the victims, ALL EXPERIENCE it. An example is the Russian revolution, where wealthy people were shot and assets confiscated. Same will be here."
Already happening! http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8371683
country runs on class warfare dude,
how you know is that even tax the rich will be debated but the true third rail is class.
50-60% are or say or KNOW they will be rich so the rest are low class and deserve contempt.
Nope can't be not here wouldn't be prudent not possible no sir commie marxist terrorist hide my eyes get away satan.
Hey, Charles, some of the Progs here think you're not black enough.
Free stuff gets destroyed or abused.
Look at Public Housing.....a ghetto everywhere you look, any city where "free" public housing exists...
Look at public shcool education where the parents pay zippo....disaster...the parents (and kids) don't have a stake in it since it's "free"...
Even the zero down NINJA neighborhoods....slums...."just walk away"....
and on and on....
Until people have a stake in it...put some of thier own money, effort, time, etc in a "thing" or action they will abuse it endlessly.
When I tell people that I took a second job, or worked harder when I was short on money they look at me as if I'm from another planet...WORK? they ask.
Good article.
there are large and growing sections of major city in U.S. that are more dangerous than Afg/Iraq. You are 10-20X at risk of getting shot than "over there".
It will and is rotting from within while we piss away our resource over there.
Pissing resources and throwing away kids lives...both at home and foreign war zones.
Nothing new. Been happening for a long time.
'cause there's no such thing as free.
did he leave out the bankers entitlements or the 'job creator tax cuts' entitlements for the super rich.....goes both ways.
Not entitlements; legalized thefts, via CLOUT.
When I heard that all companies above a certain size will now be required to provide an isolated "breast feeding station", I laugh at all talk of remaining competitive in the world economy.
Why don't we accept that we cannot compete but must dominate until such time as India, China & the rest reach a similar state of enlightenment by fighting it out among themselves?
Entitlements like any aspect of the physical universal are subject to sustainability, therefore the bottom line is, well, the bottom line....
"Entitlements like any aspect of the physical universal are subject to sustainability, therefore the bottom line is, well, the bottom line...."
But not in the USA: http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/defense-entitlement-spending
Always enjoy the articles. A couple of thoughts, offered from someone who’s never taken a dime (that I can think of) from a social/entitlement program at this point in my middle-aged life, even when I could have….
I agree that entitlement programs lead to further social and societal decline. But could it be that some percentage (Small? Large?) feel ‘entitled’ because it is the only way to ‘level the playing field’ between the growing income disparity between the rich and middle class? At some level perhaps there’s good reason to take the attitude of chasing “what I deserve.” Just a thought.
Also, I would be first in the ballot box to vote for the elimination (at least a long-term phase-out) of many/most entitlement programs if I felt for one second that trickle-down of those cuts/savings would end-up in the hands of the lower and middle class. Honestly, I suspect that any savings seen by corporations (reduced taxes, etc.) would only result in increased bonuses and even more layoffs. No one is incentivized to hire MORE workers – 95% of obscene bonuses come from simple cost cutting (any monkey can cut someone else’s salary) and/or gouging/screwing customers.
http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/defense-entitlement-spending
Spending on national defense, a core constitutional function of government, has declined significantly over time, despite wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Spending on the three major entitlements—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—has more than tripled.