Question:
Why do Americans refuse the Social security?
Martin
2009-09-13 09:32:25 UTC
I am French benefiting from the social security. If I have some disease or have an accident, I don't have to pay anything to be cured and to spend sometime at the hospital. It's the same in all European countries from the EU ...
even
Hungary or Portugal which are not very rich... How come you people refuse it?

it's seems really odd. But as I love your country I just want to know more about it...

just tell me what you think about it... Please receive my hugs from the shinny France...

Martin
Eleven answers:
2009-09-13 09:52:29 UTC
I think you can tell from the answers that they don't actually know why they hate it other than it's a foreign concept and accepting it would be an insult to their pride. And or that their government is evil and trying to take away their "freedoms" like in those 3rd world dictatorships like France.



They don't seem to care about factual evidence pointing to it being less expensive and more effective. They think it's socialism and in American English socialism = Stalinist Russia.



Also Americans are horribly greedy and don't care about their fellow man. They say "I don't want to pay for someone elses medical bills" which is of course horribly selfish and in fact proof that Americans don't understand how their own system works as anyone who pays into an insurance company is paying for other people's medical bills while also throwing in an extra 50% for the sales commissions.
?
2009-09-13 10:28:31 UTC
Martin,



I believe you mean health insurance when you say social security? But nonetheless, many Americans are ignorant of their own history and how we have gotten to this place. Additionally, they are ignorant of these various concepts that they deplore as being socialist. Also, in America the media is everything, many Americans form their opinions based on what they see on TV. And many times they fail to even do independent research because that would require reading a book, going to a library, asking questions, etc.



For instance they complain that socialism is bad. But what about the police, fire fighters, etc. ? They don't seem to complain about that. They also don't seem to complain about the military. Or how about medicare, medicaid, or social security. Or government grants for people to go to college. Or the fact that public money is used to support state schools. Or the VA.



And amongst many of the answers, notice no one complained about the bailouts that the auto industry received or the banking institutions received? Where were these protesters at when this was going? I mean seriously, the fact that some of auto manufactures filed bankruptcy and it was announced on television that the auto industries would not have to pay back the bailout. Where were the protests at when this happened?



And then there were the classic references to the Canadian health care. I have been to Canada several times and lived there as well, some Canadians complain about minor insignificant details, but the bulk of the Canadians that I met where quite content with their health system. Also, I too even stopped by the local hospital, couldn't find a "long line of people" that many of the detractors claim.



Will the government health plan be based on bureaucracy? Yip.

Will it not make sense from time to time? Yip.

Is it better than not having any health coverage? Yip.



See I think the more important question Americans need to ask themselves is, what type of government is it called when large corporations dictate and influence government policy?



That is one question most Americans don't ask. And they don't ask that question because it is like cooking a frog, you throw the frog in the water and turn the heat up, until it is cooked. And most Americans are already cooked.
2009-09-13 09:46:48 UTC
A very valid question, however there is no simple answer to your question.



My guess is simply this, there are enough people that are consciously, unwilling to accept the responsibility that it will help everyone, individuals as well as business'. Many are in denial, the added financial burden that the increase in taxes for that security is some thing that a handful do not wish to pay, many Americans are so concerned with their own tunnel vision that they refuse to see the benefit that that program will provide for all Americans. Too many politicians from both parties are indebted to the insurance and pharmaceutical companies to a point that they are unwilling to see the good that will come out of it. Too many misinterpreting the facts, because their media voices keep telling them what to believe. Unfortunately what is good for the society as a whole is ignored so that a handful of the population control the lemmings.
Millie
2009-09-13 09:49:08 UTC
It's not Social Security, it's a health plan *run* and *controlled* by the government. They are trying to *force* all of us into it in a complete disregard to the rights that our Constitution guarantees. Take a look at our complaints about it:



--The government has no right to force, directly or indirectly, everybody to use their health plan and that's exactly what the "public option" is. Where are OUR Constitutional Rights in this equation????????



--In the 1,017 pages of the House Democrats’ health-care bill is a little-noticed provision that for the first time could give the government access to the checking or credit-card information of every American. Where is our Constitutional right to privacy??????



--If the health plan they will offer if SO GOOD, why the president, his family, and the Congress will not use it...???????????



--The health care reform project include a clause that will put people to decide whether their own life would be “not worth living” under certain guilt inducing scenarios. They don't call it a death panel but that's exactly what it is. The government has been denying that there's such thing as Death Panel but they announced they dropped it from the healthcare project. If *it was not there* why do they need to 'drop it"....?????



--WE, the ones opposed to it, know how to read, we understand what we read, and we have been reading for years and years the problems that other countries, like Canada and Great Britain, with government run plans are having. They have to wait years for appointments regardless of the condition they are suffering, many die without medical attention.



--The government health plan will cover abortions, that is exactly the same as approving murder.



--"Employers failing to provide an insurance option must pay a fine roughly 8 percent of payroll."



"Smarty" employers will determine that paying the fine is cheaper and will drop their health benefits. This will *force* millions of Americans off their employer-provided plans onto the public plan.



--The government health plan will cover illegals, who *do not* pay taxes. NO, they do not pay taxes, they do not pay federal and/or state taxes, and the sales taxes they pay are not even enough to pay for the energy that one single traffic light consumes because they have a very low purchasing power, so what they pay in sales tax is practically nothing.



On August 15, 2009, at 6:01 PM (ET), in Grand Junction, Colorado, Obama said:



"So just to recap here, if you’re one of nearly *46 million" people who don’t have health insurance, you will finally have quality, affordable options."



http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0908/15/se.01.html



According to the Census Bureau, almost *10 million* of that 46 million figure are illegal immigrants, and Obama knows this.



Besides, the USA Constitution clearly states that our government cannot deny illegal immigrants the same rights that the rest of us have. Once we are forced into the health program, illegals will be included. No provision or law saying that illegals cannot be covered can be placed above the Constitution.



--Exactly the people who *do not* pay taxes are the ones that will benefit the most from the government health plan, while the ones who pay taxes will have to pay twice for their health insurance: pay for a private one to get good health service; and pay the raise in taxes to cover the health insurance for those who *do not* pay taxes.



--The Postal Service, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, the public school system, just to name a few services run by the government, are a complete disaster or in bankrupt and they want to run another one, this time where lives will be on the line?????
Deb M
2009-09-13 10:21:51 UTC
A small majority of Americans think only of themselves...and are not intelligent enough to know they are receiving benefits from what they term as social programs. We call these people extremist republicans or teabaggers who are upset that we have a Black President and their sole purpose in life is to malign every action he takes. They want Obama to fail.



The majority of the country wants health care reform and we realize that our health care system has been taken over by the greed and gluttony of Wall Street. CEOs of these companies make millions at the expense of the working people in this country. Below is a link to the CEO pay watch data base. The salaries of the CEO are exhortation. These companies also employ lobbyists that go to Congress to sway the politicians to vote their way...against health care reform. These same companies also donate campaign contributions to the politicians. Just like Joe Wilson of South Carolina...he received monies from these companies, so his ill-mannered behavior in Congress was a feeble attempt to pay back this campaign contributors.



All this information is available and online...but the extremist republicans and the teabaggers either fail to admit the truth or do not know how to do research. Of course their hate monger leaders like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck tell them what to say and how to think. But they are the minority in this country!



Your country is to be complimented. You have the best health care in the world. You would think that other countries would try fashion their health care programs after yours. But in our country, we are also plagued with arrogance. Arrogance in thinking we do things the best.
Tyler L
2009-09-13 09:53:53 UTC
Because most Americans hate paying taxes but enjoy the benefits anyway. This is why I doubt we'll have Social Security about 2017 when taxes will have to be increased to support it.
Jacob W
2009-09-13 09:43:33 UTC
France is going broke, pal. The people have become so feckless and weak that they throw temper tantrums and go on general strikes every time the Government tries to reign in the unsustainable spending.



It cannot last much longer. You simply cannot pay people to do nothing. You simply cannot sustain a system of more and more pay for less and less work.



*
Hally
2009-09-13 09:41:48 UTC
If they have never had something before, they think it is evil. Once they get these social programs, they tend to be wildly popular.



Proof of what I just said: Try running for office on the platform that you are going to remove Medicare and Social Security, and see how far you get.
Justme
2009-09-13 09:39:02 UTC
It is not Social security it is health care run by the government.



So far they have not proved themselves capable of running anything.

e.g. The Social Security is in debt so is Medicare and the U.S. Post office.
Curtis 1911
2009-09-13 09:38:52 UTC
The USA is a capitalist society.



The private sector always does a better job then the public sector.



Plus we dont want an 80% tax rate.
2009-09-13 09:38:17 UTC
America is a FREE country, not a socialist state!!!


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