//…then raising 6 children would seem to be a contribution to society to me//
And I would strongly disagree. Over-population is the root cause of most of the world’s problems and it will ultimately cause far more damage to the planet than climate change ever will. Far from contributing to society, those with excessively large families are contributing to that damage and denuding the world of the resources it has. If the world’s leaders expended as much hot air on the problem of over-population as they do on climate change, we may be in with a shout of reversing some of the damage humans have caused to the planet. But they don’t because it is the elephant in the room.
//… people who choose to retire a few years early because they have the means to do so after decades of work are surely not harming anyone… but according to NJ’s dogmatic attitude they would be “freeloaders”!//
No they wouldn’t and I think you are being deliberately obtuse in order to muddy the waters. You will see in my first post in this thread I said “Many of them are not without jobs because there are none - they're without jobs because they can't be bothered to go to work.” So let’s be clear: the people I am referring to here are those of working age who could work and would need to work in order to sustain themselves and their families should the State not provide their every need, but instead choose not to do so. They do not include people who have retired early but can sustain themselves; they do not include those caring for others; they do not include students (though a separate argument exists as to whether so many people need to attend University – but that’s not for this thread).
Those whom you specifically mention – those who retire early – do not indeed harm anyone. On the contrary, if they have enough money to live on they will be paying tax and much of the money they spend will be subject to VAT and Excise duties as appropriate. The people I am referring to have no means of their own, are capable of work but decide it is more agreeable not to do so. If you really believe that few, if any people of that type exist, you may also be interested to learn that I hold the majority of the shares in London’s Tower Bridge and I would be more than willing to offer you some at a mutually agreeable price.