On wealth redistribution: As Noam Chomsky noted in response to a questioner who characterized American inequality by using the metaphor of “two runners in a race: One begins at the starting line and other begins five feet from the finish line:”
“That’s a good analogy, but I don’t think it gets to the main point. It’s true that there’s nothing remotely like equality of opportunity in this country, but even if there were the system would still be intolerable. Suppose that you have two runners who start at exactly the same point, have the same sneakers, and so on. One finishes first and gets everything he wants: the other finishes second and starves to death.” - Noam Chomsky, The Common Good (Berkeley: Odonian, 1998), pp. 9-10. On Nov 30, 7:47 pm, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > Brilliant Don! I concur, ditto. > > On Nov 30, 3:48 pm, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > More wealth redistribution ideologuery. If the man knew about feeding > > the needy he wouldn't spout such non-sense. Meals on Wheels has > > nothing to do with Social Security. Community service, by definition, > > is local and supported by local businesses and private donors. SS is > > nothing but an enormous Ponzi scheme that soon will fail unless > > massive amounts of money are pumped into it. It is consumed by fraud > > and waste. This is what happens to enormous federal entities. > > Proponents of single payer HC should sit up and take notice. > > > Community service isn't subversive it is being phased out by the > > federal government. Our earnings are increasingly being confiscated > > and we have less to help our local citizens out. The money is being > > used to fund politicians pet projects and as bribes to get new > > colossal spending bills passed. See the New Louisiana Purchase. Mr. > > Chomsky has it backwards and I think he probably knows it. > > > -Don > > > n Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 10:20 AM, ornamentalmind > > > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Other than the obvious irony, how would you criticize this recent > > > quote by Noam? > > > > "Social Security is based on an extremely dangerous principle: that > > > you should care whether the disabled widow across town has food to > > > eat. The Social Security "reformers" would rather have you concentrate > > > on maximizing your own consumption of goods and subordinating yourself > > > to power. That's life. Caring for other people, and taking community > > > responsibility for things like health and retirement — that's just > > > deeply subversive." – Noam Chomsky > > > >http://www.zcommunications.org/zquotes/2600 > > > > -- > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > ""Minds Eye"" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected]. > > > For more options, visit this group > > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.
