[KAPital PHINUst]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Tom Delay made that assertion. I did not. I simply stated that welfare has to end at some point. These continued extensions of benefits are to the detriment of society... and yes, if an otherwise healthy individual runs out the clock on their benefits, I do think they ought to bear the burden of that and I do think they have to be somewhat complicit in their situation.

I think you're assuming facts not in evidence as well, counsel. I have stated over and over that at some point, the burden needs to shift away from society and back onto the individual. At some point, their plight is not my fault, nor should it be my problem. It seems we're in agreement there.

I don't think simplistic or real thinking is happening right now in Washington. At least nothing that is focused on cost/utility as it should be (unless the desired outcome is political capital).

In principal, I think that all transfers of wealth from public to private entities should be closely scrutinized. I think everyone outside Goldman-Sachs understands that in the long run, these sorts of relationships are arguably the precise reason for our current economic situation. (Fannie/Freddie anyone?)

What I'm sure of is that the status quo is not only not working out very well, it's rewarding complacency and inefficiency. That don't cut it in my book.

And those advocating for the status quo or for more governmental help when we're already way, way past being able to pay for that help are not advocating useful solutions even if those solutions are arguably workable in the short term. Selling out our future to make marginal improvements in the present is absolutely not a sound way of managing any crisis. Passing out more free money like this and not actually doing anything to reconfigure our systematic issues is only setting us up for a much more dramatic and much more serious failure than those in the past.

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