this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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I came across this old thread on reddit-logo. The question brings out the core Conservative belief that some people are lazy or "worthless" and "why should I pay for lazy people" or "why should I have to work for someone else to live off my labor?"

Many, many people on this thread say outright that people who they deem "lazy" don't deserve food or shelter or anything a human needs to live.

Is there a good counter to this talking point? It's pretty disgusting TBH being confronted with this. I know it's what they really believe but it still stings to read it out over and over again.

I don't understand how some people can think humans don't have an inherent right to exist. Not very "pro-life" of these people.

"Lazy" is an opinion and our society is built to treat people who aren't helping a Capitalist make profit or become a Capitalist themselves like they're burdens on society.

Life isn't fair, it never has and it never will be. Maybe some of your money goes to help a person who doesn't "work as hard as you"? There's also people who are born millionaires, people who have investments paying them for no work, people who win lotteries and jackpots or marry into wealth and never have to lift a finger again.

Forcing people to work in order to live doesn't sound fair to me. It sounds like slavery with extra steps. What kind of freedom do we truly have if we can't choose to withold our labor or check out of the system altogether?


I'm struggling a little mentally with feeling guilt around my failing job search. Technically I'm working on building three income streams, maybe four, but it feels like "failure" because I'm not making enough just yet to cover all bills. It's not for a lack of trying but there's ti.es where I have no energy to do much and it makes me feel terrible. This part of Conservatism always drove me up a wall. Hopefully some of you have good ways to fight against it.

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 days ago

I have an "invisible disability," at least on my better days, so I can see this attitude in some people's faces when they ask me what I do for a living.

And yet. About 30% of all income in the U.S. is unearned. Benefits payments are a small portion of that, and the vast, vast majority of benefits payments like SSI ultimately end up in the hands of landlords. But somehow my disability check makes chuds angrier than the fact that most of that check goes to rent.

The owners of this wealth, or capital, capture around 30 percent of the income produced by the country every year. This income flows to them, not because they work for it, but merely because they own income-generating assets like real estate, equity, and debt. In 2015, total US capital income was around $4.8 trillion.

If this unearned portion of the national income was distributed equally to every individual in society, then each person would receive around $15,000 of income per year in addition to whatever else they receive from working. For a family of four, this dividend alone would bring their household income to $60,000 per year.

$15,000, incidentally, is more than the maximum annual SSI payment. So even if so-called "laziness" were classified as a disability it would actually be the "lazy" who are getting a raw deal.