Social Security and More

About the Book

Many aspects of the government have been in place so long that we automatically accept them with little thought as to their efficacy.  Are they promoting their intended goals?  Could more effective alternatives be devised?  In short, are there better ways to make things better?

The Social Security system is a prime example.  Millions of Americans would fight to keep the present system; yet they seem to know very little about the type of program that it is, about its fundamental economic flaws, and about its future.  We can not afford to ignore the economic catastrophe that a collapse in the Social Security system would create.  We all need to educate ourselves regarding Social Security, make rational decisions about what changes need to be made, and make our opinions known to our representatives.

For centuries the common person had few, if any, rights.  Gradually, the kings of England were forced to recognize certain human rights.  Ever since those historic documents were signed, we who were not born into the nobility have benefited from the guaranteed freedoms.  More recently in the various welfare states around the world individual rights have been relegated by the politicians to a minor role while they elevated entitlements to the primary position.  What is the difference between rights and entitlements?  What are the consequences of this shift in governmental policy?

Politicians seem to compete for the heart and soul of the country’s voters by making promises that they, the politicians, believe that they, the voters, want to hear.  Are the promise makers also promise keepers?  Are there better ways to select effective governmental leaders?

People’s reaction to the income tax seems to be one of universal dislike.  Even the politicians agree that completing and filing income tax returns is an onerous task.  However, they do recognize that the income tax is an effective method for requiring taxpayers to contribute huge sums of money to state and federal treasuries.  Consequently, the system continues amid continuous complaints.  Will taxpayers’ hopes of a simpler and fairer system ever be adopted and instituted?  We can surely hope that some day rationality will prevail, but with such enormous sums of money involved we should not hold our breath, as the old saying goes.

Some people like a “Big Daddy” government with its  “Big Brother” rules and regulations.  Others do not.  How much individual freedom is possible in the modern welfare state?  If some prefer to be responsible for themselves and to take care of  themselves, is that option possible?

Many people in our country have come to feel guilty about the poor because there exists the widely-held conviction that the well-off are responsible for the meager existence of the poor.  They feel guilty that some people are poor, and they feel guilty that they are not doing more the help the poor.  They may even feel guilty that they are not poor.  Are they guilty or not?

“The Globvs” is an allegory.  What do the globvs represent?  What lessons can we learn from the “The Globvs”?

About the Author

After 35 years of teaching, 12 books published, and a much larger number of articles included in referred journals, I am a professor emeritus from the University of Virginia. My wife and I live on 22 peaceful acres in West Tennessee where we have a large organic garden and grow most of what we eat. Thanks to my wife, we have daily a wonderful feast of healthful food. I have been fortunate enough to have been, at different times, both materially poor and materially well off during my stimulating sojourn in our marvelous world. At all times, however, I have resisted being dragged by our culture into the money chase, the obsession with money and what it can buy. Based on these personal experiences and considerable research, I have prepared The Money Chase: Counting the Cost.