As the U.S. Congress reconvenes this week after its traditional August recess, a very important piece of legislation sits on the table. This summer, the House and Senate each passed legislation for a Medicare prescription drug plan, and conferees from each house will now meet to iron out their differences and produce a single bill.

This may seem like a strange thing to write about in a college newspaper whose primary readership is decades from retiring and receiving Medicare benefits. There are, however, serious financial implications for this generation: the $400 billion price tag Congress has put on the new plan for its first decade, and the fact that “in 2042, [Social Security] benefits for all retirees could be cut by 27 percent and could continue to be reduced every year thereafter,” according to the Social Security Administration’s Web site. But besides the obvious monetary concerns, there are also serious philosophical implications for an increasingly complacent and dependent society.

Social Security became law in 1935 during the Great Depression, a time when Americans were so wounded and bewildered by sudden helplessness that temporary government intervention was needed to pull the nation back onto its feet. Medicare was added thirty years later, and now we are on the eve of expanding this landmark entitlement yet again.

Social Security provides monthly payments to retired and disabled persons because, it is assumed, they cannot otherwise provide for themselves. Even those who work hard and save and plan for retirement or unforeseen circumstances are expected to welcome government assistance.

President John F. Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” When did we lose our sense of pride and become content to take handouts and crumbs that fall from the table of the rich and powerful government?

The current Medicare system not only facilitates government dependency — it explicitly encourages it. For example, there are two parts to Medicare: Part A (limited hospital insurance at no cost to the user besides the years of taxes he poured into it) and Part B (more extensive medical insurance for those who opt to pay a monthly premium that increases yearly; it is $58.70 per month in 2003). When a retired person begins receiving Social Security, he is automatically covered by Part A of Medicare. If he opts to utilize Part B as well, then there is a seven-month window during which he must enroll in it.

If someone chooses to remain independent as long as possible and not enroll in Part B during his designated enrollment period, he should be applauded, if not rewarded, by Medicare. Instead, Medicare arbitrarily raises his rates if, several years down the line, he decides to take Part B coverage after all.

An example is provided at www.medicare.gov: If, in 2003, someone enrolls in Part B two years after he first could have, then he would pay the base rate of $58.70 plus 10% for the first year he opted out and 10% for the second year he opted out: $58.70 + $5.87 + $5.87 = $70.44. In other words, Medicare penalizes retirees who strive to remain independent longer.

The national mentality of entitlement that Medicare cultivates is nothing short of an affront to the American dream. It undermines what this country’s founding fathers saw as the cornerstone of human dignity: the acknowledgement of one’s ability to provide for oneself and one’s family.

This is not about shaming people into unaffordable independence. It is not about guilt-tripping those who are down on their luck, or attaching a humiliating stigma to financial failure. It is, rather, about attaching a glorious stigma to financial success; it’s about inspiring people to do more than they ever thought they could possibly do. It’s about instilling in people the burning drive to succeed, the fierce pride to never accept anything they have not earned through honest hard work and persistence. It’s about empowering all Americans with a sense of their own inherent dignity and worth, and letting them know that they don’t need the government or anyone else to provide for them, that all they need is their own minds and efforts.

(It is worthwhile to note that integrity, responsibility, and ethics are inherent to this empowering philosophy. To lie, cheat or steal to obtain money is to admit that one is pathetically incapable of earning money honestly.)

An adaptation of JFK’s words can inspire the rebirth of the American dream: Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for you.

This is not a creed of greed. This is the aspiration to self-reliance.