How many of you young people wish to give up all the freedoms you have today for Socialism?

There is really one thing that determines your market worth, as we have all been taught, and that is supply and demand. Rush and Beck tapped into a market with a lot of latent demand that was not being fulfilled. They also have leverage. Without the technology of radio or TV or the Internet, their audience would be limited to those who could fit in an auditorium or they would be limited to writing books and pamphlets. It isn't so different for star athletes and entertainers. If they were limited by the audience that could fit into a theater or stadium, they wouldn't be so wealthy. But since TV and the movies have leveraged their act bringing it to millions, who want to see it, they became financially successful. Ultimately, though, there has to be an audience. Nobody is going to pay to see me strike out every time I go to bat or to listen to me sing. :(

It may come to pass, but I hope I am never reliant on government for my daily sustenance. I am doing all that I can to put myself in a position where that won't happen. If an emergency happens, I will be thankful for emergency help. If it is something like theft or fire or assault, then the government is fulfilling its rightful role as defender of private property rights and the property itself. If it is an accident that leaves me in need of emergency care, I am prepared to pay for it. I have and continue to save for my old age when I am no longer able or willing to work. These are the normal things. I don't buy unemployment insurance because it is provided by the government. If it wasn't (and I don't believe it should be) it would be offered in the market and I would probably buy it just as I do life insurance, with the intent of eventually not needing it.

As to why somebody would be incensed, there are many people who play by the rules and work hard only to see their incomes taxed away to provide benefits for those who have made poor choices or are unwilling to work and seen their wealth destroyed by decades of inflation and deficit spending by an out of control government. Somehow, that doesn't strike a lot of people as a very funny joke. I have observed over the years that good and honest people tend to pay less attention to government because they project their own worldview on politicians and assume they are also good and honorable. OTOH, morally bankrupt people tend to assume everybody else is also morally bankrupt and they tend toward politics where they can legally steal their share of the pie. I'm not saying all politicians are bad and everybody else is good, but the tendency seems to be there and it explains how we got into such a mess. It is the reason the general public is often slandered as sheeple.