"Sander deWaal" wrote in message
...
"Michael McKelvy" said:

George doesn't seem to get that the one of the major reasons for the
success
of the U.S. is the fact that we have such low taxes compared to other
countries.

Believe it or not, but it's entirely possible that this line of
thinking will breed an entire new generation of communists...

It is my opinion that a civilized society should look after the basic
needs all of its members, including the weak/poor/sick etc.
By basic needs I mean food, water, education, housing, medical help,
energy etc.
Yes, there will always be people who will take advantage of such a
system, but does this fact outweigh the benefits for many others?

Yes, it does. Trying to help people in need, particularly with no time
limit on benefits, often opens the door to alternative non-productive life
styles with impacts you cannot begin to predict. Look what AFDC did to black
families. Who would have thought the government efforts to help poor
children could have become such a disaster of single parent families and
dysfunctional youth?

http://www.ncfc.net/fish13ca.txt

Did you know that AFDC causes disability?
http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/afdc.htm

Or that elimination of AFDC under welfare reform actually improved the
overall number of black children in poverty?
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1661.cfm

ScottW