EDITORIAL: Elizabeth Warren and the culture of victimhood

Elizabeth Warren has a plan for virtually everything, but she clearly has no plan for explaining to prudent, hard-working Americans why they should be financially responsible for the choices others have made.

At a campaign event in Iowa last week, the Democratic presidential hopeful ran into a father who had thoughts on her proposals for student-loan amnesty and “free” college. The exchange was highly revealing.

“My daughter is getting out of school,” the man said. “I saved all my money. She doesn’t have any student loans. Am I going to get any money back?”

Sen. Warren appeared taken aback and responded, “Of course not.” The man wasn’t finished.

“So you’re going to pay for people who didn’t save any money,” he said, “and those of us who did the right thing get screwed.”

Sen. Warren attempts to argue that her proposal wouldn’t burden her questioner, but he isn’t buying.

“My buddy had fun, bought a car, went on vacations,” he continued. “I saved my money. He made more than I did. But I worked a double shift, worked extra — my daughter worked since she was 10. … We did the right thing and we get screwed.”

Whether the man was a GOP plant seeking social media fame has yet to be determined. But his line of questioning was entirely legitimate and reflects the concerns many average voters have with a cradle-to-grave welfare state based on phony promises of “free” stuff.

Even after having time to ponder the incident, Sen. Warren dug deeper when she was asked about the encounter a few days later on “CBS This Morning.”

“Look, we build a future going forward by making it better,” she said. “By that same logic, what would we have done? Not started Social Security because we didn’t start it last week for you or last month for you?”

That’s the best she could do? Comparing Social Security — toward which recipients have at least contributed a portion of their own paychecks — with blanket student loan forgiveness regardless of circumstance?

Sen. Warren and her leftist allies talk plenty about “fairness” and “inequality.” Yet she founders at sea when confronted with the notion that her proposed handouts may not be “fair” or “equitable” to those who took ownership of their own financial health and sacrificed without any expectation of government help.

If nothing else, the exchange highlights how deeply invested Democrats are in selling the culture of victimhood, dependency and helplessness and in dismissing personal responsibility, initiative and accountability. The allure of “free” tends to wear off, after all, when the sticker shock sinks in.