Here's a video about the flawed logic some people use. Has to do with ageism.

Ageism and bullshit from the right wing. - YouTube

Sorry if the cursing bothers you, but there really isn't much.

What do you think of this kind of flawed thinking?

I couldn't watch much of the video due to bandwidth quotas but to my understanding he's talking about those who are against old people (with regards to social security)?
I couldn't see the rest of the argument but I know he was defending it.

I never saw how people could even think social security is a bad thing.

It depends on the system here. In Australia, part of our wages goes into a retirement fund that goes into circulation and given to the elderly as pensions and some of that comes from taxes too. In a way they did pay off much of their own living expenses earlier on.

Regardless, they did contribute the building the country's economy. They eventually get too old to work. It doesn't matter if they were a wealthy businessman or a cleaner, they are all important. They can't work, and even if they tried to get a job, discrimination against elderly people is widely known in the working world.

And social security/pensions for the elderly is considered a factor when regarding the economic health of a country. The more able the younger generations are able to support the older generations, the better (usually).

Though I think the difference between us is mostly cultural. For one, over here social security is in a way embedded in our Constitution and there's more of a share and care culture here rather than the stronger capitalist tendencies in the US.

You should actually see the rest of the video.

It's actually about the fact that many people on the far right wing think that people should work until they are 90, but won't hire them after about age 55 or 60.

xD Thanks. Australian net so even watching a bit of it kills my bandwidth.

Very true. 90 is kind of overdoing it. People should have some time to enjoy their life. Not everyone can get a yearly holiday. >.<

The right wing of the US has a terrible reputation world wide though.

Originally Posted by Pa-chinko

The right wing of the US has a terrible reputation world wide though.

Makes me wonder how so many people can justify to themselves supporting it.

Because the left wing has the same reputation with different people.

Originally Posted by Glass

It's actually about the fact that many people on the far right wing think that people should work until they are 90, but won't hire them after about age 55 or 60.

I feel mixed about this, since I don't believe in a right to retirement, but in the same vein I understand what you're saying. I do believe it's wrong to have that sort of double-standard of "You have to work until you're older than dirt but we sure as hell won't be the ones hiring you!"

But yeah, I do believe that retirements needs to be earned. I also believe that we, as a society, should remove any blocks that make it difficult to retire (like making sure the living wage includes cost of retirement and that employers actually PAY a living wage). We should also be willing and able to support people who are no longer able to work as well.

Because I work at a supermarket in an aging town, I serve retired people most of the day. The Retirement age in New Zealand is currently 65, but that might be changing soon. The thing is, sixty percent of them don't know how to use the eftpos machine, or at least, can't press the buttons hard enough. Why would making these people work until they drop be at all beneficial? They certainly shouldn't have a job just for the sake of having one, rather than one they can actually do.

Social security is cool, as long as the population as a whole isn't aging. In the US, we have more and more people who are retirement age everyday, and they are living significantly longer than was planned for, so there isn't enough money to support the system anymore because its losing money.

At least that is my understanding of the problem. I try not to think about it, it probably won't be available when I'm 65. If I make it there because I can't even find a job now (and I realllly need the income).

Thing of it is though, the next generation is significantly smaller. The only reason the population is rising anymore is because of immigration issues. The actual birth rate has been dropping since the seventies. And people our age are having kids later and less often even than our parents did.

I think the problem will be solved by the time we are that age, though we might be able to work longer because of medical advances in recent history, as well as industrial changes.

I would love to comment, but the video was removed. :/

I'll either find a better link, or fix the one that's there. Shouldn't take long.