I’ve thought about it too.
I could probably get away with it, but I can’t bring myself to try. My little Jiminy Crickett always keeps me in line.
But, looking at the unfunded liabilities (about $100trillion, give or take, or the sum total of every asset of every American and corporation combined, or 5x the current total GDP of the entire economy - there are plenty of metrics and they’re all depressing), I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no way we can ever meet those obligations. We are doomed. Inflating our way out will be an unmitigated disaster. We can’t possibly tax our way out. Short of perhaps replicating the expansion of the 1920s for the next century, which just isn’t going to happen, there’s just no way to avoid a collapse. Heck, we can’t even address the deficit, much less the debt, and the unfunded liabilities aren’t even a part of the conversation.
In light of all that, and the probability the crash will occur in my lifetime, and that, the more and harder I work, the more just gets taxed away, it’s pretty darned attractive to get paid to be a part of the problem - to help hasten the collapse so we can get on with the rebuilding. I could do a heckuva lot to prepare my family if I didn’t have to spend 40+ hours a week at a job.
It’s getting more and more difficult to convince myself that I’m not a sucker for playing by the rules, when I could be far better off exploiting the system, especially in the long run, and be in a better position to help restore our republic after it all goes to heck in a handbasket.
Very well said. I will probably be an easy “in” for disability within the next few years. I have always immediately dismissed the idea, instead planning how I will change my life to accommodate both my work and my illness. I don’t want to be “on the dole”.
But since America chose to embrace dependency and freebies and demonize success and hard work on November 6th, I have on occasion wondered about it. I will probably turn from wondering to serious consideration come next April when I get the call from the tax accountant telling me how much MORE I have to pay over what I’ve already paid in the last four quarters. To work hard and then fork over a big chunk of it to fund entitlement programs I’ll never benefit from and to support Obamaphones I’ll never use? Why bother anymore?