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Corker: Social Security Benefits = Welfare

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN.) to TV host: Extending jobless benefits over a long period of time turns them into welfare. He used Social Security as an example. This is how out of touch these assholes are: that they would insult those of us on S.S. by calling it "welfare." Unlike the Senator, I worked all my life to earn a living, and as I did, I paid out a lot of money to the S.S.A. via the I.R.S. The money is hardly welfare: I EARNED it, motherfucker!

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Permalink Reply by Josh on December 2, 2011 at 12:10pm

I would like to know why there is such a negative view of the word "welfare" anyway. The preamble to the constitution explicitly states

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America"

I guess in the US, the phrase has come to represent only governmental funds spent on poor and working class people. You never hear people complaining about welfare for the rich (excessive tax cuts to promote "job creation", interest free loans to "stimulate the financial markets", Oil and farm subsidies, etc).

The term Welfare has become a propaganda weapon to use against the poor in class warfare. It provides a neat little stereotypical label which can be used to pit working class Americans against the poor, while the wealthy lobby to create laws which funnel more money and power to themselves.

In reality, welfare, social security, unemployment, etc. are all forms of government-run insurance. We all pay in and we all have the opportunity to receive payments out. If Bill Gates were to suddenly lose everything he owns, he would get welfare, medicaid, social security, unemployment, etc. The only difference from private insurance is that these insurance premiums are based on the amount of money people earn. Pay what you can, receive what you need.