What to do about the poor

When I argue against welfare and government assistance for the poor I always get a response that says something like this. "Do you think we should let the poor starve?"

My answer is to the usual liberal who believes the government should force us to take care of the poor is, "There are millions of people who, like you, care about the poor. More than half of the voters vote for a candidate that will force them to take care of the poor. So why do you and those other millions have to be forced to take care of the poor? By admitting you care means there will always be charitable people available to help those who truly are in need. You will be hands on helping and you will know if you are creating someone who is dependent or if you really are helping someone who cannot help themselves".

Then I ask them if they know any poor people, and what have they done to help the poor. Most of the humanitarians know no poor people and are not be in the gutter helping the poor. They just want to pose as someone who is good so the rest of society will trust and invest in the humanitarians.

If the standard of living doubled for both the rich and the poor, the humanitarians would still be horrified with envy because there was still inequality. The humanitarians would be happier if the standard of living was halfed, as long as all were equal.

A frustrated producer told me he was thinking about going on welfare instead of working his ass off trying to comply with all the rules and regulations on his business, only to have his production taken by force and given to the non producers. This statement would have been unheard of in past generations. In fact it would have brought derision and scorn. But now, it is what we have become. It is normal animal behavior.

Sometimes I feel like giving them a different response and recommend Jonathan Swift's, "A Modest Proposal". I don't think a liberal appreciates the satire.

Charles Tolleson, from poverty to comfortable