tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7821345570811107481.post5965509304769629915..comments2024-03-17T00:13:44.599-07:00Comments on Marty Nemko: The Problem with MeritocracyMarty Nemkohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14850388752934193821noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7821345570811107481.post-65287793710015330012008-05-28T18:25:00.000-07:002008-05-28T18:25:00.000-07:00Anonymous brings up an important point: how do you...Anonymous brings up an important point: how do you separate the truly needy from the ever-growing number who play victim, thanks to the media and colleges, which fan the flames of victimhood.<BR/><BR/>Indeed, government is terrible at setting limits on who will be deemed needy. And they're even worse at policing their rules: hence such unfairnesses to taxpayers as welfare fraud, lawsuits based on false claims of discrimination, and special interest groups citing bogus research justifying government handouts. <BR/><BR/>It's a tough dilemma: How do you serve the truly needy without taking huge tax dollars from citizens to pay for the not-truly needy?<BR/><BR/>Then there's the ancillary issue that giving handouts even to the truly needy can make them even less self-efficacious.<BR/><BR/>Sigh.Marty Nemkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14850388752934193821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7821345570811107481.post-24250567766287671302008-05-28T17:44:00.000-07:002008-05-28T17:44:00.000-07:00Your argument against meritocracy makes it almost ...Your argument against meritocracy makes it almost effortless to make a case for big government programs. Flawed as they are, that is exactly why they were supposedly created: to take from those that are far more successful than average, and to give to those who, by no fault of their own, are unable to succeed (and for some reason, it is NEVER their fault, not even if they played an active role in their failure).<BR/><BR/>Some people are victims. But wasn't there a time when victims were the exceptions? They were extraordinary cases, and that was why they deserved extraordinary help. Most people are able-bodied citizens who can do just fine for themselves if they are willing or required to do so. <BR/><BR/>But nowadays, everybody is claiming to be a victim. And the more we ask for help when we don't really need it, the more we will lose our freedom to live as we choose, and the way things are going, government will be happy to take this away from us altogether. Pretty soon, there may be no turning back.<BR/><BR/>The citizens and the political elite who want big government had better be damn careful what they wish for. We all just might get it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com