[nnfy]

>Her savings long gone, and having never done much long-term financial planning

And so again we are expected to pay for the mistakes of others. What incentive is there to save if you know you have a social net to save you anyway?

Yes, I understand, it is a terrifying way to live, I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if we deincentivize personal responsibility, what stops this from becoming a larger problem? How can this be sustainable?

Edit: please do not mistake my attempt at objectivity for callousness. One must divorce personal feelings of pity and empathy for individuals when discussing matters which affect hundreds of millions of people. There comes a point where there are more people requiring assistance than we are capable of supporting, and part of the solution is to discourage recklessness.

[crispyambulance]

The thing is a lot of people run out of money for many different reasons and a lack of "personal responsibility" is only one of them.

All it takes is one big crash to wipe out years of long term financial planning. Illness of oneself, a spouse, child or parent can easily crater life savings. Sometimes people just live too damn long. And yes, sometimes people lack "personal responsibility."

To some extent, yes, you are expected to pay for the safety net of others. You never know when YOU might need it.

[nnfy]

I understand that there are legitimate reasons that someone may need assistance.

My problem is with this nonsensical mentality that, without any actual statistics, people automatically assume that anyone struggling is a victim of circumstance. Or worse, that they have somehow been abused or stolen from by those with money. Which, by the way, I believe I'd a relatively new outlook in the history of the U.S.

The danger is that it encourages people to live haphazardly and in the long run is not sustainable. And, quite frankly, I have no desire to pay for people who lived selfishly in their own time.

[epistasis]

There are many nations with a similar level of development and wealth as the United States. How prevalent is this problem in Canada? In Europe?

You propose "personal responsibility" as the solution to this, but does Canada or Europe depend more on "personal responsibility" or less than the US?

[iaw]

Ayn Rand, arguably a strong proponent of "personal responsibility", required welfare at the end of her life. She made some justifications for how she could live off of welfare but still did it.

When times are personally good it's easy to make arguments about what people should do, but when you're in a situation with no support things feel a lot different.

[nnfy]

> but when you're in a situation with no support things feel a lot different.

The fact that things feel different in hard times does not change whether objectively they are right or wrong.

[nnfy]

Are you sure that the problem doesn't actually exist in Europe and Canada? Are you sure it isn't offset by a culture where the young are expected to care more for their elders?