@averagejoe1 said
@AverageJoe1
You know, Sh76, any such discussion, by any of you, will all go back to the common denominator......You want successful people to pay for mistakes and poor choices of not-so-successful people.
Say it.
I want successful people to pay for mistakes and poor choices of not-so-successful people.
Of course, like any other soundbite, it's a bit of an overstatement. so, let me rephrase:
I think it's in the best interest of society to give the less fortunate (for whatever reason) at least a minimum standard of living that preserves their dignity, self-esteem and willingness and ability to contribute to society.
So I believe in wealth redistribution for the sake of wealth redistribution? Absolutely not. Do I think rich people are inherently bad? Of course not. Do I think everyone is entitled to equal outcomes? Of course not. Do I think everyone is entitled to equal opportunity with corrections for factors such as family status and inherited wealth? Again, no! (read Harrison Bergeron if you want the logical extreme of such position)
BUT...
Do I want people to starve because they flunked out of school and can't do anything useful? No. Do I want people to be shut out of education because their parents were bad? No.
Poor people aren't "entitled" to rich people's money, but it's in ALL of our interests that poor people get every reasonable opportunity to improve their lives and basic living necessities.
Do you disagree?