Fox News host Glenn Beck (4/13/10) came out against Social Security yesterday:
Have you ever wondered why we even have Social Security? It’s not an American idea. It’s first from Germany in the late 1800s. Hmmm, lets see, who else was prominent in Germany at that time…Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche. This is where the first progressive ideas came from, and when those ideas floated across the Atlantic, they took America off course…. The progressive wave of European social insurance infected America and this is the result of it. This is European thinking, not American.
Now, factchecking Glenn Beck is a bit like telling Jackson Pollack to color within the lines, but it’s worth pointing out, as Matthew Yglesias (4/8/10) noted, that Nietzsche was not only not a progressive, he actually comes across as someone who today might be a Glenn Beck fan:
Socialism is the fanciful younger brother of the almost expired despotism whose heir it wants to be; its endeavors are thus in the profoundest sense reactionary. For it desires an abundance of state power such as only despotism has ever had; indeed it outbids all the despotisms of the past inasmuch as it expressly aspires to the annihilation of the individual, who appears to it like an unauthorized luxury of nature destined to be improved into a useful organ of the community.
But more interesting than Beck’s forays into 19th century German philosophy are his attempts to whip up some resentment among his audience toward high-living grandmothers:
When FDR signed that Social Security bill, it wasn’t designed to subsidize a cushy retirement, so seniors could jet set all across the globe on vacations. Social Security was meant as insurance…. In1930 life expectancy was only 58 for men and 62 for women, and the retirement age was 65! You weren’t even expected to ever get the benefits. Today life expectancy is 75 years for men, 80 years for women, and too many people rely and count on Social Security funding their weekly shuffleboard tournaments. You should have saved!
The odd thing about this is that Beck’s audience, as with cable news in general, is pretty old–in a typical recent week, roughly 72 percent of his audience was 54 or older (assuming he doesn’t have a lot of under-18 fans). You have to wonder–how do they feel being painted as a bunch of freeloaders, currently or in the near future?
Beck may be falling into the trap of assuming that his followers have the same ideology that he does. He may oppose government social programs in general because he thinks such programs aren’t “American”–but there’s a large number of white Americans who oppose welfare programs because they are perceived as mainly benefiting black people, at the same time that they support social insurance programs like Social Security because they are seen as helping white people. One suspects that such people make up a significant percentage of Beck’s biggest fans.
I love his argument that because it is a German idea it is Un-American. Isn’t nearly all of our political system based on ideas from English and French philosophers. Also the fact that nearly all of our population is connected to someone who came as an immigrant.
I doubt Glenn Beck will have to rely on social security when he retires so why should he care? Just because his audience may, deosn’t mean he should. Beck reminds me of Wal-Mart. If you say “union” at a Wal-Mart everyone gets suspicious. If you say “progressive” Beck has to tear it apart.
Read Thomas Paine’s “Agrarian Justice’ to learn where the concept for Social Security originated.
Old Tom Paine; Founding Father, prolific pamphleteer and radical socialist. A true American.
Glen Beck is filthy rich. He makes 36 million dollars a year spreading his rediculous propaganda and pays his Social Security taxes off by January 2nd of every year. Limbaugh makes even more and makes enough to pay his Social Security portion of FICA taxes on January 1. Most of us have paid or will pay their taxes all year long because we do not make million dollar salaries. Beck has some strange views of how much money people get from Social Security. Gee, I don’t really think that grandma and grandpa are going to be jet setters on their measly Social Security checks. Beck is crazy like a FoxNews propagandist and is being very well paid for his efforts.
Matthew Yglesias sounds nearly as demented as Glenn beck. Real socialism has yet to be tried & when it is tried it will be small d democracy, which may or may not ever happen. In his youth Nietszche was a big fan of Wagner, so maybe a youthful Nietszche could be a fan of the equally bigotted Beck. But N. overcame his infatuation with W. I think he would quickly do the same with Beck.
Glen Beck is a good example of today’s conservatives: immature, insecure and fearful. You will find these features to be universal in them. His greatest fear is progressive politics that are win-win positions he cannot argue against and ultimately he will be relegated to the sidelines and obscurity where all of his ilk belong. His attempts to demonize progressives always fall flat, his lame Karl Rove opposite speak (liberal fascism, etc.) only works on soft-headed Faux News watchers and his cowardly attacks on well intended public servants who have nothing to gain reveals he is corrupted both politically and spiritually leaving him without a heart or soul.
I’m a 64 year old female living on Social Security. I was busy raising my children all nine of them so didn’t have a long work effort outside my home. Clearly Glen Beck hasn’t a clue how some older Americans live on so little. If it weren’t for my 525.00 Government check and my Medicare coverage; I would be living in the street or dead! Of course Glen Beck will never have to live on his Social Security. Instead he has made millions off of the lies and distortions he spews each and every night! It doesn’t take much to frighten older people. We live in a country where you can say anything you want but when Glen Beck and others like him claim to be journalists and news givers then they should be held accountable when they set out to trick and lie to the masses.
Glenn Beck. Ingrate, fear-mongerer, anti-freedom. This is how he will be remembered.
Wait, Wait.
Maybe he is right about European values messing up America. As Justin (7:14) notes, if you can distort history enough you can believe that America was pure without such values at its’ inception. Based on this view, we fell for some horrible influences that these “progressives” just had to force upon us, like for example something that clearly every “true” American today would not fall for, abolition. But instead we fell for such progressive ideas. Humph. Now I have to work. And even worse getting rid of the slaves was coupled with taking away the rights of states. Who in their right mind would ever want a unified country. Next thing you’d know every one who didn’t have a sticker of said unified nation on the back of their SUV would have the “most sacred” trait of patriotism questioned. Luckily this unified nation had the audacity to elect a president from the wrong party. Now we can finally get rid of this unification, get back to calling ourselves Virginians or Vermonters again. Since that is what these horrible European values really took away. Our Freedom. Right???
If you people would be taken seriously, you really must stop saying things about thinkers who dwell at levels you cannot even see from your position. Nietzsche as a fan of Glenn Beck? Can you even begin to understand the hearty laughter provoked from anyone who has read more than a page of Nietzsche by simply putting those two names in the same sentence? And Wagner and Beck as somehow parallel entities? One of these gave the world Der Ring des Nibelungen, one of the most incredible works of art produced in the history of humankind; the other gave us The Christmas Sweater. Anyone who would speak of Richard Wagner as though the conversation begins and ends with the (misspelled) word “bigotted” is just the kind of half-literate dolt for whom Beck slaps together his his cartoon books.
Beck’s reference to Nietzsche is indeed laughable to say the least. One of the elementary facets of Nietzsche is the considerable lack of popularity, interest, and attention he received during his life. It was so paltry that the bulk of his works were self-published. In fact, it is arguable that were it not for Heidegger and later 20th century philosophers Nietzsche would remain an obscure footnote in the annals of philosophy’s history. This shows Beck’s complete lack of even a basic understanding of political thought. To see Nietzsche and Marx listed in the same sentence as conceptual resources for US Social Security testifies to Beck’s general ignorance and propagandist rhetoric.
Perhaps it’s just me, but rightists like Beck seem intent on destroying democracy despite their rhetoric of preserving it. True popular democracy involves willingness to compromise and allowing majority rule, not jingoistic rhetoric that inflates a disgruntled reactionary minority into a seemingly inerrant politically ‘enlightened’ ruling elite. Beck’s democracy seems to only allow for his own peculiar ideas on government. His 10/80/10 message can have no other implication than that the ‘enlightened’ 10% need to manipulate the 80% against the remaining 10%. Am I the only one who sees his recent shows as actively trying to create propaganda with decidedly questionable political motives? When will Beck realize that he advocates an authoritarian elitist ‘democracy’ that will marginalize and oppress the majority?
How can he complain about Social Security? He’s enormously wealthy from all his hate-mongering. Most of his listeners have real jobs, and they don’t pay well enough to save much, not if you want to have children, not if you want to send them to college, not if you want to own a home. Yeah, those old folks sure are evil. If only there were a God. Then sociopathic narcissists like Glen Beck would get their just reward. But in the real world, he ends up making millions and millions. What do you want to bet he will accept his Social Security checks when he’s old enough to! I’d bet my life on it. He’s all about making money. Ain’t nothing else to him.
What has “infected America” is the brainwashing of the better-dead-than-red era. / Does “state power” refer to that dirty-term “Big Government”? What is the government? Isn’t it primarily made up of people we (often blindly-ideologically) elect? Could we trust our government if we could somehow get meaningful Campaign Reform? (Conveniently declared “dead” by John McCain). / I’m an old SS recipient. I still pay taxes for wars and a system where the rich get richer without merit. I’m sick of people picking on a program that I have been, involuntarily, contributing to since I was 18./ Jean Clelland-Morin
Ever meet a person who likes to do things involuntarily? Social Security is just the government collecting money from the young and sending it out to the old. It’s not “security” because it’s a game based on force. Those who are paying in now are not “saving for their retirement”, they are simply paying for the right to force the next generation to send them portions of their paychecks. This system is stupid. You people act as if no one lived over the age of 65 before FDR, no one had kids before FDR, no one sent their kids to college before FDR… please.
You people can make sense of this blog? Glenn Beck should be careful not to offend all his older fans because they’re secretly racists who love the government. This is evidence by the fact that 1) They are mostly white. 2) They are mostly old. 3) They participate in INVOLUNTARY government programs. Wow. FAIR is like a fountain of truth.
Glenn Beck’s good old days:
The 1930’s were a perilous time for public education. With cash money in short supply parents were unable to provide their children with the necessary clothes, supplies, and textbooks (which were not furnished in some states) to attend school. Taxes, especially in rural areas, went unpaid. With the loss of revenue, school boards were forced to try numerous strategies to keep their districts operating. School terms were shortened. Teachers’ salaries were cut. One new teacher was paid $40 a month for a five month school year – and was very glad for the job! When a rural county in Arkansas was forced to charge tuition one year in order to keep the schools open, some children were forced to drop out for that year. One farmer was able to barter wood to fuel the classrooms’ potbellied stoves for his four children’s tuition, thus enabling them to continue their education.
http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30.html
Ben O. I would rather “involuntarily” pay for health-care and Social Security than the INVOLUNTARY TAXES I pay (and you pay) to be Globocop or support those who get richer in our convoluted system without contributing to it.
Jean, how are you not paying to be Globocop? Obama’s foreign policy is not that different from Bush.
By the way, did you know Congress originally promised not to touch the money in the SS fund? Putting your faith in government is a big mistake.
Beck and his ilk: “I want services (police, firemen, teachers, sheriffs) but I don’t want to pay any taxes!
Hi Ben O. I pay to be Globocop – ça va sans dire! I’m not happy about it. I pay into a system that makes the rich richer who have contributed little to the system (unless you love trickle-down). And what would you do if you inherited the war? No baguette magique. No guillotine and NO Campaign Reform. I’m saying that YOU involuntarily pay taxes and since we have a Special-Interest-bought-congress, you don’t exactly have control over how you are taxed. I trust the “Big Government” before I trust BigBiz and their money/propaganda. The problem with the government is that we have not demanded Campaign Reform (conveniently pronounced “dead” by John McCain). / Jean
Today I read a great article about Socialism that Beck should (but never will) take a look at. http://www.truthout.org/nine-myths-about-socialism-us58513
Two things:
First, to Dennis Jones:
“Matthew Yglesias sounds nearly as demented as Glenn beck.”
The quote was not Yglesias, it was Yglesias quoting Nietzsche. Nietzsche was the “demented as Glenn Beck” one.
Second, about Beck on life expectancy:
We often forget that when we talk about life expectancy, it refers to life expectancy _at_birth_. In 1930, many children died annually due to measles, chicken pox, mumps, scarlet fever, and a host of other causes that are of little concern to American children today. The increase in life expectancy over the past century has come about – follow this, now – far less by people living to a more extended age than by fewer people dying young.
Even in 1930, life expectancy for someone who had lived to 60 was well beyond 65. Beck’s claim that “You weren’t even expected to ever get the benefits” is completely and flatly false.
Professor Hans Rosling in this short 4 minutes video shows how health improved in step with wealth over the last 200 years
Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes – The Joy of Stats – BBC Four
Glen Beck is just a talking puppet for the new super rich Corporation loving idiots in this country. I never in my life thought I would seriously consider moving out of my beloved country, but going broke and dying destitute because of medical bills, and the thought of not being able to live after retirement, or send my kids to school is enough to make me consider. This country has gone downhill steadily since the 1960’s. My dad came her after ww2 and had a good life. No more. We have lost our marbles. May Glen Beck and his ilk wind up destitute in their old age!
President Obama’s policies are far different from Bush’s overseas and definitely here in the US. He may be stuck fighting the two wars that Bush left for him, but he is doing it so much more intelligently. American soldiers are accomplishing more and hopefully will be coming home during President Obama’s first term. Glen Beck is an alarmist and he is doing a good job of alarming republicans who would think he knows anything about anything. His latest blab is so out there in outerspace it is amazing that he is not laughed off the air. If people are stupid enough to think this slob tells the truth about anything they are really beyond help. That is the very sad condition of republicans who never figured anything out the whole time Bush was screwing up everything and telling nothing but lies.
Everyone loved Glenn Beck as long as he was giving them fuel to fight Obama gutting Medicare. He sold it to the older people that socialism is evil, the older people are fighting the Dems to keep their huge social programs. They don’t realize they want socialism, and they were just fine with Beck until he told them they have to give up their free money and free health care. It’s all a game where everyone wants all the free stuff from the government they can get, and each group tries to get rid of other people’s free stuff thinking it means more money for them to get their free stuff. Greece is fighting over the exact same things people in the U.S. are fighting over, huge state pensions, retirement benefits, free health care, and Greece is considered fully socialist. They call it social security because it’s SOCIALism. 41 other taxpayers have to pay into SS for one person to collect it. People pay 5K into Medicare and receive over a million in health care during the rest of their lives, never mind their spouse who never paid into it also gets SS and Medicare. Beck is right to end those huge entitlements, but he doesn’t realize his followers are on the nanny state and love it and would never give it up.
I think Beck is finished because once he asked his followers to put their money where there mouth is, games over. He’s down to talking religion everyday and he can’t admit the Constitution is a living document, he can’t admit case law is so important, he doesn’t know the real deal about Martin Luther King, Jr., nor Ghandi, he’s just talking crazy talk at this point, and his followers are socialists who are not honest nor intelligent enough to understand they are fighting for their socialism. The Tea Party people think if welfare is done away with and the illegals are sent back to Mexico, the money saved will be put into Medicare and Social Security, their social programs. The funniest part is Obama is the one who took 500 billion out of Medicare and made it into rationed care, and the Dems are the ones talking about doing a means test for social security. The Tea Party people say they want smaller government and no socialism, what they are really fighting for is to stop Obama and the Dems from taking their socialism from them. Stranger times there has never been.
mumps is so damn painfull that i don’t wanna hear about ‘;”
There is way to much abuse in all social government plans. They are good ideas on paper but are manipulated and misused in real world terms. If we cut all of them we would have people working for them selves and others and not rushing to get their piece. Of coarse some will be affected negatively but the same thing goes right now. So many people want to take from these programs that they are affecting the ones deemed for the program.
Thanks for any other informative web site. The place else could I get that type of information written in such a perfect approach? I have a undertaking that I’m just now working on, and I have been on the look out for such info.
you are in point of fact a good webmaster. The website loading velocity is amazing. It seems that you’re doing any unique trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterpiece. you’ve done a excellent activity on this topic!
Great ”“ I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your website. I had no trouble navigating through all the tabs and related information ended up being truly easy to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, web site theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Excellent task.