Do you feel that you "have a debt" to society?  If so, how are you
paying it back?

14 responses total.

taxes

  hmmm that is a poser, But the phrase "debt to society" implies that one
is incarcerated and "owes" society a chunk of his/her freedom. But there
is a obligation,if you will to uphold the laws and contribute to the common
good, be it in the private or public sector. As a person who does some 
volunteering to the Red Cross (giving blood) and who gets paid to watch 
a election precinct, I feel that these two activitiesome how serve that
purpose.

not to grind terms too finely, but does "society" here mean the government,
the community, or either? i feel an obligation to the latter; the former has
actually made getting my education and career harder these past five to ten
years, and socially, i don't feel a debt to it as an individual--particularly
with its movement towards contracting my individual rights.

i give blood four times a year and will do other things as they happen, but
i'd be inclined to agree with #1 in a way: the government gets my taxes, and
at my income level, perhaps that's more than they deserve right now. but i
feel one always has an obligation to one's community.

While I do feel indebted to society's progress and the things I
have learned as a result of that progress, I am not in debt to
society nor the government for that matter. 
  
I do however feel obligated to filterr  what I have learrned thorugh
my experiences and education and make sure I +pass-on+ that
information, sometimes not to be confused with conventional wisdom.
  
That may seem tobe a  mighty fine grind (I like that image, btw). It
is also true for me.

Ask not what your country can do for you...

 ... it can get off my back and backside as well ..... and take
it's grubby fingers out of my pocket, too.
  

I wonder if we all did more for our "fellow man" if there would be
less of a need for taxes?

As I was informed many times, that's how this country DID get started,
and then government invaded that sector taxing us away from our
mutual assistance of others in the community. When you are milked
dry by taxes, you have nothing left to spread into your community.
  
Works that way with capital formation too, but I drift, sorry.

re #8 : good point.

 I am convinced that there would be less misery and strife if we all
gave more back and we all volunteered our tim BUT-- and this is a
good point to make, All of us are caught up in our little worlds and
most of us are working to get ahead of the other guy. And some people
get forgotten along the way... The solution is--Stop and smell the 
flowers, look around you and ask, "what can I do for my fellow man"
todayand then do it.

  I saw a pubservad from the United Way that said that we could slove
that is solve all of our problems if we gave 5% of our pay and 5 hours
a week to a certain cause. Just think about what 5 hours times 200 million
adds up to. That leaves room for a LOT of help. But would you do it?

Meanwhile, the other guy takes away what you were aiming for.

I have a very bad impression about the United Way, they tried to milk money
from us in order to deposit it in the same bank (branch) where the company
I worked at was having its account, a huge credit, and cash flow problems.
Same thing with retirement accounts.

  It would have to be a concerted effort.

starting with the example of one person at a time ... This is NOT a
suggestion to drift into Comunity Activism Litmus Testing btw.

Well, I would go to K-mart and say BABY DUDE!.

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