What is Our Role When Others Fail?
Gary Silverman  Recently, weve been tackling the issue of helping those who can no longer work live in some level of comfort. Lets just say Ive had a few comments come my way about this. I think I can categorize the thoughts into three camps:  Camp One: They messed up their lives and deserve what they get. No help needed. They made their bed, let them lie in it. Camp Two: They already get plenty of handouts from the government. No one is going hungry or homeless unless it is their choice to do so. Camp Three: They have been let down by society and it is societys duty to help them. Well, so far my Camp Three commentators have been willing to help, as long as the money comes from someone else. I guess its easy to be generous if you dont have to pay the bills. The thing is, they all have a point. A lot of people who end up at retirement with no money messed up somewhere. They didnt get the insurance they should have. They didnt study hard enough in school. They gambled or drank their way out of solvency. They spent more they could afford and saved less than they should have. Yes, there are a myriad of social programs, whether from the federal or state governments or through charities to help those in need. Yet most of us know someone who the system has let down along the way; and, at least for them, you might agree with Camp Three. Even if we can get some from Camp One into the discussion with the idea that someone deserves to be helped, we are left with a dilemma: We dont want to withhold money and resources from those that truly need help while we dont want to waste money and resources on those that dont. The tighter you squeeze the rules to keep the undeserving from getting help, the more likely you are to squeeze out the deserving group. The more you open up the system to ensure you dont miss the ones it is designed for, the more you open the system up to waste and fraud. If there is a perfect middle, I havent seen it. Then there is the question of who deserves what. Now that youve spent time looking at the problems, you can see how finding one overall solution may be impossible. No matter what you try, there will always be unintended consequences. As for Camp Three, I ask not what you think others should do, but what you are willing to do. Gary Silverman, CFP is the founder of Personal Money Planning, LLC, a Wichita Falls retirement planning and investment management firm and author of Real World Investing.