Bee Aware

Bees don't just go for yellow!

Bees are very social creatures but they do not depend on Social Security. Their security is in their work ethic and  their division of labour (every bee has an important job and pulls his weight). There was a time in our society, before my time actually, when there was no Social Security. We took care of each other within the family unit, the caring of a community, or as a result of the faith based help from a church, of which we were all a part. As we fell away, as a society, from our faith, and the family unit began to break down, there were people 'falling through the cracks' who needed our help. Society caused this and now had a solution. Everybody contributed to a larger tax base and Social Security was invented. It was meant to be a safety net for those 'less fortunate' but eventually became an entitlement for all, both those who contributed and those who did not. The result was two types of citizens, those who were net givers and those who were net takers. The net takers have recently out numbered those who work hard and pay taxes and take nothing out, and now the chickens have come home to roost. 

Tomorrow, the US social security system will, for the first time in its history, be paying out more than it is taking in. This was supposed to happen in 10 years, but with the huge economic correction taking place, it is happening ahead of schedule. Canada will not be far behind. Add in the soon to be retired baby boomers, and the fact that they are aging and will certainly require more health services, and you have a recipe for major social and tax reforms. Oh, we saw it coming, but did nothing about it. Why? Governments get elected to spend, not to cut. We are all stupid to have bought into this thinking and now we will pay the price. 

I came across a quote yesterday by Frederic Bastiat, a French economist and philosopher. " Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavours to live at the expense of everybody else."  This scenario is unsustainable, as we will all discover in the years to come.