faustus (01/24/83)
Don't mind not having any savings to draw on when they retire? Would
you not mind not having any savings to draw on if you got $200 a month?
Saying that these people should have saved when they worked is fine,
but if you consider how many things can wipe out a life savings and
put an elderly person out in the street if they have no income, this
scheme seems quite impractical. And if you don't like supporting
old people when they can no longer support themselves, you should
reflect upon your luck that these old people did not feel this way
when you were quite young and, I presume, unable to take care of
yourself. One can understand certain Eskimo customs that dictate
when the senior members of a community are to be taken out to die
when they become a burden on their society, but in the most affluent
society in the world, surely we can do better than that. I admit that
the SS system must be changed, but we must not forget the elderly
who depend, for whatever reason, upon the system for their support.
-Wayne Christopher
faustus@berkeley
ucbvax!faustus