This is perverted and soul-crushing. If even the Bush admin is siding with the employees, you know you've crossed over into bizarro world. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080705/benefit_battles.html I was curious about that douchebag PR guy from Spherion, so I googled him. He's a little punk 30 year old breezily dismissing this shit. Check out his blog: http://www.spherioncareerblog.com/havel.php Man does he look like he needs a beating.
And glibertarians wonder why most people realize that we need some kind of government safety net between this and Enron-style pension busts...
Dude. The safety net is what caused this. ERISA's restrictions did not let this woman seek and receive the justice she deserved. And find me on libertarian on earth that thought that Enron should have been able to get away with what they did. No libertarian believes that fraud is acceptable This is one more reason why I take care of my own. Relying on an outside force (employer or government) to take care of you in you time of need will only leave you disappointed in th end. Very weak Joe
Wrong. A stupid-minded and/or possibly deliberately evil interpertation of a poorly-worded law caused this. And you call me weak. Sure, there is a minority of responsible libertarians out there who have realized that large social institutions are a danger to individual liberites regardless of the public or private nature of the institution but I'm talking about the majority- the uninformed glibertarians who believe that only "government" can possibly be bad and IOKIYAAPC: It's OK If You Are A Private Company. This makes sense if you live on a private island with only your family. But I'm talking about the real world where the rest of us live and work in the larger society. Try saying something relevant about that world and not merely your Special Place.
The law was implemented just as it was designed. You can't stand that the safety net failed. The preceding is a bunch of words that have nothing to do with what I stated. Find me one libertarian that believes that fraud is proper and justifiable. Go ahead. I dare you. There is a 100% chance that this situation will not befall me or my family because we have prepared accordingly.
You can't stand that this poorly designed and implemented law isn't the only possible safety net. Render unto me a fucking break. Glibertarians are always going on about "caveat emptor" and how we don't need anti-fraud regulations because the Holy Market will sort everything out. Ah yes, the great American myth of self-sufficient rugged individualism. Unfortunately, that myth began its quick slide into obsolescence even before the Civil War. It was certainly dead by the dawn of the 20th century even if we still try to pretend its still alive. Look around, Matt. It's not 1850 anymore. Like it or not, America's rulers back in the late 1800s opted for a society dominated by large institutions, both private and public. We're all interdependent now. One thing that separates real libertarian thinkers from glibertarian bullshitters is that libertarians recognize this reality and try to find ways that maximize individual liberties for as many people as possible within the frameworks of our large institutions both public and private while maintaining the advantages of interdependent civilization. Glibertarians drone on like retarded versions of Horatio Alger about how supposedly self-sufficient they are and how they don't need nobody nohow and why don't all poor people just become the next Bill Gates. Anyway, don't forget to replace the canned beans in your bunker every few years.
Dude, seriously. When things go bad, as they are now with the credit crisis, everyone becomes a cockroach that goes away from the light and shuns their responsibilities to others. They look out for themselves and if they screw someone else in the process, better the others than them. To ensure that you and your family are taken care of in your time of need, you have to setup your own safety net. Heck, my dad was in Iraq and if he died there with a gun in his possession (IN IRAQ!), his government-issued life insurance policy would automatically go void. So the government obviously doesn't even care about helping the people they employ that risk death as part of their job, what makes you think they care about private citizens in their time of need? If you don't want to do that, fine, but don't blame anyone when things go wrong and you get screwed. Now, I try and help others in their time of need, and I appreciate others' help toward me, but I don't count on it.