rights vs. privileges

[Tuesday's child]

I didn't want to start a new thread, & I'm having trouble deleting it.

[Gomezticator]

I'll make this into one for you.

Employment is a privilege, not a right.

Discuss.

[Tuesday's child]

Is it okay with you that we as a nation allow thousands of poor, homeless/jobless people to die like flies?

I suppose that landing a job is a privilege (one that in extreme cases can be eerily similar to slavery), but with it comes rights, such as (but not limited to) a sustainable living wage for competent work, & measures to ensure safety while on the job, and responsibilities of employers and/or insurers in the event of emergencies or injuries. After all, it is definitely a privilege being an employer, making money off of other people's work. As a general rule, I think employers' responsibilities are more easily overlooked than workload responsibilities of employees. It's this skewed enforcement of responsibility that makes the haves so much better off than the have-nots.