Social Security

[Peepee]

People really love to harp on the fact that Chris is a welfare leech. Whether or not he is truly mentally capable of holding a job is hugely debatable and beyond the scope of what I want to comment on right now.

I've heard time and time again that Chris is living off of the collective monies invested into the system by all of the hard working decent citizens who have taken interest in his antics. It just occurred to me, though, that this logic might be broken.

Bob worked for over 40 years and during that time paid into Social Security. Barb, it seems, worked for a similar period of time before retiring. What are the odds that both of them collectively used up their contributions in their years of retirement? My stab-in-the-dark guess would be that they didn't come anywhere near canceling out their net contribution, but I'd love to hear someone else chime in and give some rough math to prove or disprove this.

Either way, the point is that Barb and Bob helped fund the system that Chris is now legally entitled to; it's not unreasonable for Chris to be utilizing a service that his parents paid for.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

That's the thing. I don't think people are ticked off because Chris gets a tugboat, but that he gets one and doesn't spend it in any way that would improve his life. I don't know if Barb is commandeering more of the tugboat now, but really, if he was actually financially responsible I doubt most of us would be angry with him getting welfare.

Another thing, if Chris actually spent his time volunteering or otherwise making his community a better place but didn't have a job, I think a lot more people on here would knock Chris up on their scales of respect.

 

[CatParty]

i think he's better off staying inside.
i don't mind if the government pays for it either.
even if he had the best intentions of getting a job or working with the community or trying to better the world, he'd screw it up. he is neither mature nor capable enough to function in a structured work environment. the tugboat is okay in my opinion because it saves him embarrassment and other people grief.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

Yes, you're correct. Chris is legally entitled to his social security, and yes, Borb did pay their share into it throughout their working lives. However, if you're going to take that angle, then it should be pointed out that Chris was receiving $800 a month at one point, and that's only going to have risen over the years. At that rate, it's not going to take long at all for Chris to burn through whatever Borb contributed over their years of work.
It's also worth pointing out that Bob was taking a sum of Chris' money for rent etc (fair enough) so again, that's money going straight back to Bob. So after all's said and done, the Chandlers will have received a hell of a lot more from the government than they ever contributed. But then the system doesn't work on a "you only get what you and your mom'n pop payed" basis, so either way it's not really an issue in the grand scheme of things.

That's the thing. I don't think people are ticked off because Chris gets a tugboat, but that he gets one and doesn't spend it in any way that would improve his life. I don't know if Barb is commandeering more of the tugboat now, but really, if he was actually financially responsible I doubt most of us would be angry with him getting welfare.

Another thing, if Chris actually spent his time volunteering or otherwise making his community a better place but didn't have a job, I think a lot more people on here would knock Chris up on their scales of respect.

This!

Once the money's dumped into Chris' account, it's his and it's not up to the government to tell him how to spend it. Thing is, it may seem cushy for him now, but the moment Barb drops things are going to get a hell of a lot tougher for him. Neither Bob, Barb or Chris himself have done a damn thing to prepare for life after Borb. (which should be referred to as "AB" or "Chris, AB")

The flaws in the system are arguably just as much to blame. How many of us would do anything other than our hobbies/interests if we got money deposited in our accounts every month for nothing?

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

I tried working out the numbers, but I think that if Bob paid $20/week (I have no idea what he would have paid per week) for 40 years he could pay off Chris's tugboat at its current rate (1200/month or 14,000/year) for about 3 years.

I doubt Barb and Bob alone paid enough into SS to provide Chris with a tugboat that will last indefinitely. Remember, his tugboat will last until he either loses it or he dies. I seriously doubt he'll ever be off the tugboat on his own will.

 

[CatParty]

I seriously doubt he'll ever be off the tugboat on his own will.

that would take effort.

 

[An Ounce of Vagina]

The flaws in the system are arguably just as much to blame. How many of us would do anything other than our hobbies/interests if we got money deposited in our accounts every month for nothing?

I think few people would to be honest. Most people need some purpose in their lives, some sense they are a part of something bigger then themselves and are doing something useful. Otherwise you start to go crazy like those lottery winners who immediately quit their jobs, and in a few years are bankrupt junkies.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

The flaws in the system are arguably just as much to blame. How many of us would do anything other than our hobbies/interests if we got money deposited in our accounts every month for nothing?

I think few people would to be honest. Most people need some purpose in their lives, some sense they are a part of something bigger then themselves and are doing something useful. Otherwise you start to go crazy like those lottery winners who immediately quit their jobs, and in a few years are bankrupt junkies.

I know I'd like to think I would, but I've been around long enough to know that human nature always tries to take the path of least resistance. I live in a country that has more than it's fair share of people living off welfare, the vast majority of them being more able to work than Chris. Most of them do nothing other than wander round the shopping center, drink, smoke, and watch daytime tv.

 

[An Ounce of Vagina]

And those people are some of the most miserable you will find. Just look at Chris.

 

[CatParty]

And those people are some of the most miserable you will find. Just look at Chris.

they do not live. they just exist.

 

[An Ounce of Vagina]

And those people are some of the most miserable you will find. Just look at Chris.

they do not live. they just exist.

Exactly. It's in our DNA. The caveman who sat around all day doing nothing starved or got eaten by predators, while the caveman who worked got to pass on his genes. That's why we feel compelled to do something with our time, even if that something is just a hobby.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

And those people are some of the most miserable you will find. Just look at Chris.

they do not live. they just exist.

Pretty much, the only difference with Chris is that he claims he's miserable because of everybody else.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

Pretty much, the only difference with Chris is that he claims he's miserable because of everybody else.

Ha, no... I think you'll find that the victim mentality is pretty common amongst people who can work but don't want to, they go hand-in-hand. It's all just different aspects of the same thing: a sense of entitlement to avoid responsibility for oneself.

 

[Peepee]

if he was actually financially responsible I doubt most of us would be angry with him getting welfare.

I think you underestimate the sort of mental gymnastics some people will put themselves through in order to justify hating Chris.

Another thing, if Chris actually spent his time volunteering or otherwise making his community a better place but didn't have a job, I think a lot more people on here would knock Chris up on their scales of respect.

Eh. The same social brokenness that makes it debatably impossible for him to be a decent employee makes it equally impossible for him to be an effective volunteer. If you think he could and should get a job, that's fine, but if you think he's broken enough to justify collecting disability benefits, that probably means he's broken enough to be absolved of his social duty to perform volunteer service as well.

i think he's better off staying inside.
i don't mind if the government pays for it either.
even if he had the best intentions of getting a job or working with the community or trying to better the world, he'd screw it up. he is neither mature nor capable enough to function in a structured work environment. the tugboat is okay in my opinion because it saves him embarrassment and other people grief.

I basically agree with this. Sad as it is, Chris (in his current state) is more of a liability than a potential asset for any business or organization.

Neither Bob, Barb or Chris himself have done a damn thing to prepare for life after Borb. (which should be referred to as "AB" or "Chris, AB")

Yeah, and it's a real shame. You can't help but wonder if things will have to get worse before they get better. Once he's out from under Barb's thumb, maybe someone will be able to force the assistance upon him that he has needed for a very long time.

And those people are some of the most miserable you will find. Just look at Chris.

they do not live. they just exist.

For your typical miserable entitled asshole welfare leech who has no excuse, you can make a pretty compelling case that they have nobody to blame but themselves for their shitty existence. In Chris's case, though, it's kind of hard to make that same argument when you consider what an awful hand he has been dealt. I'm sympathetic toward the idea that people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but it seems to me that Chris never stood a chance.

 

[Shadow Fox]

That's the thing. I don't think people are ticked off because Chris gets a tugboat, but that he gets one and doesn't spend it in any way that would improve his life. I don't know if Barb is commandeering more of the tugboat now, but really, if he was actually financially responsible I doubt most of us would be angry with him getting welfare.

Another thing, if Chris actually spent his time volunteering or otherwise making his community a better place but didn't have a job, I think a lot more people on here would knock Chris up on their scales of respect.

This exactly sums up my feelings about Chris and his tugboat. I don't really care if someone who's able to work needs to be on public assistance to help take care of themselves or their families - especially in a shitty economy where it's hard to find any work at all and pretty much impossible to find a job that pays an actual living wage - as long as they're trying to do something with their lives.

I personally think Chris is capable of doing some kind of simple, structured work that doesn't subject the public at large to his obnoxiousness, even if he would need a strong hand guiding him through it, but he'll never seek out that kind of work himself, and he'd never think to try to contribute to society in any other way, despite Rob Bell's promises. (Does this make Bell a damn, dirty perjurer?) That's what irritates me about Chris receiving this money - he just thinks he's entitled to it and the thought never enters his head that maybe he should try giving back to his community in some way.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

I think you underestimate the sort of mental gymnastics some people will put themselves through in order to justify hating Chris.

Most people on the forum don't hate Chris, they find him amusing. I started a thread a few days ago about what Chris does that gets people angry, and most of them don't say the tugboat is one of them. I'm pretty sure his treatment of the gay community angers people more than him getting the tugboat.

The same social brokenness that makes it debatably impossible for him to be a decent employee makes it equally impossible for him to be an effective volunteer.

He'd make a crappy employee, so yeah, he'd make a crappy volunteer, too. However, from personal experience, volunteering is far less demanding and it's easier to find volunteer opportunities than a job. He's volunteered for the lemonade stand, so obviously he can do something constructive for other people.

Also, I think he should volunteer because he needs to do something constructive with his time and it would be good for him to think about someone other than himself, not because he has a "social duty" to perform volunteer work. He might even be able to parlay his volunteer activities into a part-time job.

despite Rob Bell's promises. (Does this make Bell a damn, dirty perjurer?)

It makes him a politician

 

[Anchuent Christory]

He'd make a crappy employee, so yeah, he'd make a crappy volunteer, too. However, from personal experience, volunteering is far less demanding and it's easier to find volunteer opportunities than a job. He's volunteered for the lemonade stand, so obviously he can do something constructive for other people.

Also, I think he should volunteer because he needs to do something constructive with his time and it would be good for him to think about someone other than himself, not because he has a "social duty" to perform volunteer work. He might even be able to parlay his volunteer activities into a part-time job.

Yeah, Chris is capable of work, yet he's simultaneously unemployable. Put it this way, can anybody here honestly say that they'd give him a job?

The problem with the system is that it allows him to survive, but it doesn't encourage him to live

 

[Marvin]

He'd make a crappy employee, so yeah, he'd make a crappy volunteer, too. However, from personal experience, volunteering is far less demanding and it's easier to find volunteer opportunities than a job. He's volunteered for the lemonade stand, so obviously he can do something constructive for other people.

Also, I think he should volunteer because he needs to do something constructive with his time and it would be good for him to think about someone other than himself, not because he has a "social duty" to perform volunteer work. He might even be able to parlay his volunteer activities into a part-time job.

Yeah, Chris is capable of work, yet he's simultaneously unemployable. Put it this way, can anybody here honestly say that they'd give him a job?

The problem with the system is that it allows him to survive, but it doesn't encourage him to live

This sounds like Saw, one of Chris' favorite movie series.

 

[Tubular Monkey]

Chris isn't burdened with a mind that is powerful enough to encourage him to be more than he is. He will never know the satisfaction of achieving actual goals. He will collect digital trophies until he dies, and while he may want a little more out of life than that, it'll do. If he can eek out a D minus in life, well, that's still passing.

 

[Grand Number of Pounds]

If he can eek out a D minus in life, well, that's still passing.

That's probably the most eloquently stated phrase I've heard about Chris's mindset.