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« The Zen of Dementia | Main | Blanchard Wins Days: Aging In Community »

September 24, 2008 |Permalink |Comments (5)

Chipmunk Economics

I've been watching the SCHIP tragi-rama and, for me it least, it has all of the overtones of the recent Social Security brouhaha. Its the same story with Medicare, Medicaid, WIC, SSI...etc., etc. etc.

Here is that story:

"Despite all evidence to the contrary, there is no such thing as the common good. It turns out that we are all alone in this world, rich and poor alike--- well not exactly alike. Anyway, again despite all evidence to the contrary, it is best if we learn not to rely on each other. We are, it seems, a race of chipmunks each of us racing alone to toward the creation of our own, individual, pile of nuts. If your stash is big and well-hidden, then congratulations, you deserve to make it through the winter. If your stash is small or not so well hidden, or stolen or ruined, well then that's just too bad. You can't expect any other chipmunks to give a damn about you.

"It's every chipmunk for himself and the devil take the hindmost."
---- Richard Dawkins

Interestingly, the story told above collides with everything we know about morality, ethics, theology and, especially, human nature. We are not chipmunks, and never have been.

It is said, by those who know, that before the invention of the freezer, the best place to store surplus meat was in a neighbor's stomach. In other words, sharing the surplus in good times with the expectation that we will be helped by others in hard times is woven into the fabric of our species. Social insurance programs (like Social Security) take this principle one step further and create a situation where members of a nation make a promise to each other and then work to keep that promise, generation after generation.

Efforts to lead us away from the promises that, we, as a people, have made are, when you get down to it --- inhuman.

We are not chipmunks, never have been, never will be.

Comments ( 5)

Oh well said! Right on! Love the quote about the neighbour's stomach being the best storage spot against a rainy day. We need to remind ourselves regularly that we are indeed not chipmunks, despite what some in our society would have us believe.

Posted by Anne
September 24, 2008 12:24 PM

I was reading in the Washington Post on Sunday about the budget for the DC Department of Aging receiving a 1% increase for this fiscal year, when inflation is a 4% and other local agencies received as much as an 8% increase.

Now that's a declinist view of aging.

Posted by Cass Naugle
September 24, 2008 5:24 PM

Chipmunks are “ground squirrels” they build their nests underground. They may have families, but they don’t live and thrive in communities. They have no strength in numbers; no economies of scale. Although they gather nuts, they don’t bring them home. They bury them in various places and all too often forget exactly where. Their hidden resources may be an example of a mixed/balanced group of investments in this sense, but they must risk life and limb to retrieve their assets due to predatory practices that are an ever constant threat.

People on the other hand do live in communities. They form and belong to groups/organizations/churches not only to benefit themselves and their families, but to bring aid and comfort to their neighbors. It isn’t necessarily what you do for a living that matters as much as it is what value/service you bring to the people with which you come in contact.

While Social insurance programs (like Social Security) may represent a “promise”; the greater question may be who made that promise and when; and who must fulfill the promise and how. Promises made by previous generations, while well intended, can encounter unexpected consequences and changed circumstances. The original intent of Social Security may no longer be workable. As life expectancy increases and more people than ever reach eligibility; the original “promise” must be altered to accommodate current circumstances.

Posted by D. McCracken
September 24, 2008 6:55 PM

I am glad I do not know Richard Dawkins. There is a percentage of people that we CAN NOT count on to do go for whatever reason but there is a greater or equal percentage that makes up for the rest.

I prefer to think and hope and know that we can count of the greater.

Posted by Joe Podson
September 24, 2008 7:31 PM

I'm hesitant to accept calls for reforming social insurance programs like Social Security based on the challenge that one generational cohort presents. It is a daunting challenge and one that will require some hard choices, but in my view ensuring that these programs go on is essential. We aren't chipmunks, but if some had their way on this issue a whole new animal would emerge from the fray - the vulture.

Posted by Nich
September 26, 2008 10:28 AM

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