Of course we're entitled to it, it's our money!

Can someone tell me why Social Security and Medicare are disparagingly called an "entitlement" programs, as if that is somehow a bad thing? In point of fact, those monies were paid in by every single working person with every paycheck they've ever received. OF COURSE we are entitled to our own money plus interest accrued! It's a collective investment in our future. Brilliant, actually. Since most folks don't have the common sense or perhaps the know how to invest on their own, we as a nation decided to make sure everyone has a minimum social net. Why? Because it's much nicer to live in a country where people have the means to take care of themselves. So why are these programs being disparaged?

It was social programs like these that made and kept America strong, that kept our old folks from starving and dying without medical care, that keeps the disabled from starving to death on the streets. Go to any third world nation, and that is what you see, everywhere: people begging, starving, dying right there in front of you on the streets. These social programs are precisely what created the living standards that have made America the envy of everyone else in the world. Perhaps no longer . . .. When social programs are gutted, we will become like Russia and China, nations that throw away those who are no longer productive.

I know I don't want to live in a nation that doesn't value every single human life. Aren't we ALL God's children, after all? The poor, the feeble, the sick, the mentally ill, as well as the elderly? Of course we are! Now, stop your spoiled brat bellyaching and do what's right. Rich folks, pay your taxes. And while you're at it, why don't you offer to pay extra, just for the privilege of living and making gobs of money in free country? If you're so hot on American values, then support this country, don't cut it off at the knees. Refusing to pay higher tax rates is going to destroy the very fabric of this nation, our infrastructure, our social structure.

IF YOU LOVE AMERICA, THEN QUIT YER BELLYACHING AND PAY YER TAXES, IN FACT, PAY MORE THAN YOU'RE ASKED TO PAY. And if you don't want to give it to the government, then give it to charity. Where are all those vaunted Christian values, eh? Pay up, or get out.