A concerned Politics Done Right caller expresses the angst many approaching their retirement age are feeling. I made it clear there is a solution, real Social Security.
Make Social Security what it needs to be.
Josey, a 71-year-old caller, expresses her concerns about relying on her 401K for retirement. She points out that the unpredictability and instability of 401Ks make them a less secure option than pensions, and she is still working due to uncertainty about her financial stability. And politicians choose to neuter Social Security.
The transition from pensions to 401Ks is an example of how corporations in a capitalist system function. It is about capital over humanity. Masters in the days of slavery had to take care of their slaves because they were capital. And a dead or sick slave could not work to maximize the master’s income. Employees were only cared for where they had to be based on law and union demands. But over time, companies have found ways to absolve themselves of that responsibility, leaving individuals solely responsible for their own well-being.
The government should play a role in ensuring a humane living wage for everyone, whether working or retired. Social Security should provide a minimum living condition, relieving people of the stress of maximal reliance on saving. The wealth created by workers is often unfairly concentrated in the hands of billionaires. It’s time to stop the legalized wage theft, that generates the windfall profits of corporations.
The solution to our Social Security problem is education and political activism to elect representatives who prioritize humanity over capital. Society has the resources to allow everyone to live a good life after working. Voters must reject the “rugged individualism fraud.”
We must change our minds away from the corporate-driven indoctrination that would have us disregard human dignity and social welfare in practice even as the rhetoric says otherwise. The progressive viewpoint aligns with what most Americans desire, so we must actively participate in spreading the ideas that make our lives better instead of towing the austerity line the corporate media allows to fester on their networks.
