My reply to a a bunch of right-wingers saying entitlements make people lazy.

[white_wolf]

A Conservative on another board asked if entitlements help the poor or not and a lot of right-wingers jumped in with the old entitlements make people lazy argument so I decided to post this. Oh and if anyone wants to read the whole post I'll link it, but it's mostly bullshit. Here is what I wrote:

Explain something to me. If entitlement programs cause people to be lazy than why do the countries with a stronger safety-net all have less unemployment and poverty than us? For some reason Canada's unemployment came up a s smiley face, but it's fixed now.

Let's look a few stats. Keep in mind not all of these nations are actual social-democracies,but they all have stronger social-safety nets than us. The UK is likely the closest to us in terms of the size of the safety net.

U.S: Unemployment: 9.8%. Poverty rate: 14.3%
Germany: Unemployment: 6.8%. Poverty rate: 11
Sweden: Unemployment: 7.9% Poverty rate: N/A
Norway: Unemployment: 3.6% Poverty rate: N/A
Canada: Unemployment: 7.4% Poverty rate:10.8%
Iceland: Unemployment rate: 7.1% Poverty rate: 10%.
Denmark: Unemployment:4.1% Poverty rate: N/A
UK: Unemployment rate 7.6% Poverty rate:14%

[gateley]

1. Facts are useless when it comes to these people. Logic doesn't

enter into the equation.

They've been led to believe "entitlements" means "welfare". Just let them know it includes their SS/Med and we'll see a different result when asked that question.

[okieinpain]

2. bingo! n/t.

[Bandit]

9. It also means veterans benefits and Congressional retirement

Those people are "entitled" to their benefits from their service.. I guess that means all those veterans are just plain lazy and so is their tea bagging Congress Critter.

[femrap]

3. If the greedy

multi-nationals would stop moving all American jobs overseas, we wouldn't require Unemployment, which I paid into. And all that SS....I paid into that, too.

I want my fucking money, you fucking thieves! 'Robber Baron' is just too nice...you're lowly common thieves who pray to the almighty $...which may not be around for too long.

And don't get me started on the huge CORRUPTION involved in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars...who got all that money??????? Trillions of $$$$$....poof!

[MrDiaz]

4. lol well there is one thing

I just noticed the population difference for each country.

U.S. 311,840,000

GERMANY 81,802,000
SWEDEN 9,440,588
NORWAY 4,959,200
CANADA 34,530,000
ICELAND 318,452
DENMARK 5,564,219
UK 62,435,709

[white_wolf]

6. So the stats are based on the % of the population as a whole.

The RWers said that entitlement(I hate that term by the way) make people lazy and unwilling to work, however if that were true than the countries I listed should all have higher unemployment and poverty ratings than us.

[NoGOPZone]

8. You just noticed that the US has a greater population than Canada and European countries? nt

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. Wow. I always held as an immutable axiom...

...that Western European countries would always have more unemployment than the USA.

Upside-down world, indeed.

[white_wolf]

7. A few do. France I think does.

Damn it. I really should have added France. There unemployment is: 9.6% and their poverty rating is: 13.6% so they are closest to us, but even they aren't really a social-democracy like Sweden,Norway, or Germany. Of course the eastern European nations likely fare worse than us, but a lot of them went through shock doctrine in the 90s.

[LonePirate]

10. Trust funds and bloated salaries are what truly make people lazy.

Exhibit A: Paris Hilton

[sinkingfeeling]

11. Just ask them if they have grandparents and point out that they probably are using

the 'entitlements' of Social Security and Medicare.

[jtown1123]

12. So the elderly, disabled and infirm are lazy? What an asshole.

[Johonny]

13. yet these are the same people that can't give enough entitlements to companies

that are of course according to the supreme court people Go figure.

A Republican is a person that believes if you give money to a rich person it creates a fire in him to go out and invest it to create more money and grow the economy, if you give money to a poor person it gives them no incentive to work at all.