This link. Everything in the editorial holds together as a strong warning. Cassandra warned her fellow Trojans, "Don't take that horse inside our walls." Plus, means testing counts against simple justice under the facts - Those more able to pay for things themselves during elderly years, they paid the retrogressive flat rate capped tax into the program, and promises were made to them, whether wealthy or not. It is bad government to back out on promises made over decades to the citizens, especially those who need the things promised them and to which they ARE entitled. But the same promise was made across the board - up to the cap everyone pays the same percentage, everyone is given a promise by government which is worth as much as dirt if politicians at any point over time heartlessly and brazenly decline to act responsibly in keeping relied-upon government promises.
Society's workers, who over decades, paid the freight need not be screwed, in old age. It does not have to be that way, despite Paul Ryan, despite John Boehner, despite John Kline.
Now, TAX THE RICH, that is an entirely separate thing from means testing, and honored in the breach.
Ask Dayton these days about "Tax the Rich" and he'd most likely reply "Build Zygi his stadium" - there's that gap between campaign rhetoric and the pallid thing put into place with Dayton having held a majority in both houses.
He did not keep the faith.
Last, our current Social Security recipient generation over decades paid the cost to school the following generations, and if owning property will continue to be taxed to school the children of others because all of us know it is a generic social benefit to not let children grow up into being ignorant unschooled adults. It is a situation as with community policing against criminal behaviors, or road upkeep, where cost must be spread to have a system that works. That is all part of an implied social contract, i.e., we all (because of schooling) understand that such a term has been broadly used in that range of meanings.
The Ron/Rand/Republican mischief over abandoning parts of that social contract, or downsizing over time to nothingness if not abandoning the social contract precipitously, and inciting the young to approve of that move and to think more of themselves as individual taxpayers with a hounding will to spend on themselves only and to learn from others to categorically hate paying taxes despite public benefits, that incitement against the realities of "we're in it together" is a particularly unwholesome thing.
Curiously, "in it together" at its most extreme, in a military chain of command where the bottom rung is told "not here to think but to take orders" seems in a way fine to most Republicans. That mentality is probably how they hold their surprising bloc voting practices together. Don't think, follow leadership's directions. Individualism has its separate place, after all.
Back on theme after that digression - Vulnerable limited and impressionable young minds can be easily tipped to think of themselves more as Ayn Randian rugged individualists of special merit and less as parts of a system that must work to avoid chaos and general hardship, (the short brutish existence Hobbs foresaw without responsible and empowered government), AND inciting feelings of generational resentments and thus adopting divide-and-conquor gaming of us, to undermine society and social conscience and solidarity, along with the plain ugly ill-educated selfishness in too many that can be easily gamed that way, is either misguided, irresponsible or outright evil politics. I see it as actual conscious evil on the part of too many "Boehner/Romney/Ryan" types, the worse of the worse, that cadre of politicians and their handlers who are instigating feelings of discontent and incohesiveness, among the 99%, to benefit their country club 1% and their outsized luxuries and excesses.
Downsizing the military and ceasing to play "world policeman" and instead being a good international neighbor, that Ron/Rand policy seems as sound as their saying we should all take a good hard look at how the bankers are manipulating things and how it benefits the bankers far more than us; that part of the Ron/Rand buffet, I will go to that end of the table to embrace and partake, but the other end with sowing of generational discord and societal irresponsibility, what's set out there is most unwholesome, and should be removed.
Keeping it makes the entire Ron/Rand buffet unappealing, and one that will most certainly be turned down decisively under majority rule. A notion of limited government need not be one of irresponsible and heartless government. Yet that unfortunately is what too many in the Ron/Rand camp fail to either see or acknowledge. Ron Paul and Rand Paul and their handlers/advisors, are unfortunately in the forefront in that regard. But neither of the two is evil at heart and in their thinking, unlike John Boehner and Paul Ryan.
__________UPDATE__________
After a somewhat lengthy screed, it is worth restating, read the original linked item, this link. What it says is better written and more important than this post, which expanded on it in a direction or two but deliberately did not quote at length or parrot. Read it. Understand it. Embrace it. It is all truth. Truth you should consider and take to heart.
