Bertrand de Jouvenel Quote

I like Bastiat's take: "every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all."  Should we as a people help uplift the poor? Yes.  Should we pass on that responsibility to the government? No.  Individual charity has always FAR surpassed government assistance.  However, "non-profit" orgs formed by the likes of the Clintons, for example, do little to help anyone but those that are paid employees and contractors of those foundations — same with government bureaucracies. 

Should families relegated to the ghettos of Chicago and Detroit be kept as perpetual dependents for generations while their children get substandard 'free' education?  When welfare becomes a racket, it serves only to buy votes from the poor souls suckered into dependency.  Reston likely grew up in a time before the system became so corrupted.  Socialism eventually fails when there are more takers than contributors, so it starts out well, but eventually collapses under its own weight.

Reston, please realize that your family's welfare payments were all borrowed on the backs of future generations — and the bill comes due.  Do people benefit financially from government redistribution, yes, but at what cost to the rest of us?  If people are in need of insurance, then all who want that protection should have the option of joining voluntarily.  But if all expect to collect, the venture eventually goes bankrupt.  Never-ending money printing eventually leads to WAR as nations collapse and need to raid the coffers of their weaker neighbors.  It is a CON!