It's Hard to Turn Down Government "Favors" When They're So Enmeshed in the Economy
Mark Reboul is a computer programmer and musician who lives in New York City.
I accidentally discovered a great party trick: Get laid off from your job, tell someone about it, listen to them decry capitalism, wait for them to observe that you’re entitled to collect unemployment, and then tell them you’d really rather not.
It is incredible how indignant some people become when they hear me say that. They don’t even ask why I might want to stay away from it. They just keep saying over and over again, “Mark, it’s your money. Don’t you understand, you’re entitled to it. Your employers have been paying in for you for all the years you’ve been working, and now it’s time for you to collect!”
If I give even a vague response like, “I don’t want to deal with the government unless it’s absolutely necessary to stay out of jail” or, “I really don’t like filling out forms,” they get madder and madder, not just as if they’re dealing with a lunatic (someone who would throw away free money), but as if they’re dealing with a “dangerous” lunatic—a revolutionary or something.
I skip the detailed responses, such as: I never asked the government to protect me, or, if they really wanted to help me out in an unemployed period, they would not have taxed my employer for this purpose and I would have gotten paid more, which I then could have saved myself or invested in private unemployment insurance—without any of the cost and aggravation of having the money run through bureaucrats’ hands.
Welfare by Any Other Name
I wonder why people are so hot on collecting unemployment, but are still generally against collecting the type of welfare that the chronically unemployed receive. I think I paid in for that too. By the same logic. . .
Anyway, you get the picture.
Unfortunately, it’s really hard to turn down the government’s “favors” when they’ve enmeshed themselves in so much of the economy. If they nationalize the medical business, will I only go to black-market doctors? If they take over all business, will I choose black-market work—or homelessness—over having a job and a decent (but inconsistently principled) life?
My previous job, at a private university medical center, was largely supported by government grants. Come to think of it, I haven’t moved out of my rent-stabilized apartment either. The low rent helps a lot at a time like this when I have no income.
Now I just need to find a new job soon enough that I don’t have to think about compromising my principles to survive. It’s impossible to be perfectly consistent, but I think it’s better if you can always remain aware of your inconsistencies.
In any event, I don’t judge anyone else. We all do the best we can.
