Divisions and inequity
In a recent conversation with a local man, he was adamant about his money not going to help poor people. He registers his 20-year-old truck in Florida because it is too expensive to register it in New Hampshire, and he has to pay extra taxes on his income because he makes so much money. He proceeded to say he has not had a vacation in 14 years. He somehow gets to Florida.
I told him the average senior citizen lives on under $23,000 a year on Social Security, and we do not have livable wages to live and save for retirement and most of the pension plans have been abandoned. He said it is not up to the current generation to make up for the lack of planning of prior generations.
What about all the hard-working seniors who now live on an inadequate amount of money? What about working-class and lower middle-class people who do not earn enough income? He feels it is on his back instead of the system being corrected. High costs of healthcare insurance and housing for others should not be a burden on working people like him to pay more money.
When I asked about higher taxes on large corporations, he said they will take jobs out of New Hampshire and out of the country. I said they did that task thirty-plus years ago. Most people are frustrated with the increasing economic costs of living but these conversations that evolve into protecting oneself come from the system. This division message works in building furrows in society. The ignored are the lesser paid, parents, grandparents, children and neighbors who do not fit your category of likeminded. Let us not let the system further divide and conquer our society.