Was Lazarus A 'Bum'?

glassjester

Well-known member
Voluntary charity would barely make a dent overall and any charitable organization would simply balk at what you suggest. Even with the safety nets in place charity can't reach everyone.

The very same system you bemoan so much is as much there for you should you find yourself out of a job or unable to work.

You're arguing for welfare as a sort of unemployment insurance.

And it can function as one. In which case, it should be entered into voluntarily.
You pay into it, and you can take from it. Voluntarily.
 

Arthur Brain

Well-known member
You're arguing for welfare as a sort of unemployment insurance.

And it can function as one. In which case, it should be entered into voluntarily.
You pay into it, and you can take from it. Voluntarily.

You can choose to avail yourself of it or not, that's up to you. Like everyone else you don't get to choose what your taxes are spent on and I notice that you have no rebuttal to the fact that voluntary charity alone would result in a surge of people living in poverty.
 

glassjester

Well-known member
Yeah, and everyone lives in a nice house with a white picket fence and pies on the windowsill.

What did I say that was incorrect?

What US citizen does not have access to a free high school education?

Or maybe it was the second part, that you think was wrong.
Was that it?

Do I need responsible parents in order for me to not have kids outside of marriage?
 

glassjester

Well-known member
You can choose to avail yourself of it or not, that's up to you. Like everyone else you don't get to choose what your taxes are spent on and I notice that you have no rebuttal to the fact that voluntary charity alone would result in a surge of people living in poverty.

You're arguing from consequences. Bad logic.

Because X solves problem Y, X is justified. No, sir. You're wrong.
 

Crucible

BANNED
Banned
About 3/4 of people people on welfare work, and food stamps account for about 1% of government spending.

There's exaggeration about the matter, and bad judgements toward the people on them- it's not that they do not work, it's that the jobs they have are minimum wage and there are not enough high paying jobs which they qualify for to all obtain.

If you're looking for a problem in the system, beyond the job/wage issue, consider what is known as a 'welfare queen'- they are women who abuse welfare and don't do a damn thing, period. They collect the check, watch a couple of the neighbor's kids, and rob any man that sinks into their trap.
They are almost the entirety of the 25% who do not work.
But I suppose that's just plain misogyny, huh :rolleyes:
 

glassjester

Well-known member
About 3/4 of people people on welfare work, and food stamps account for about 1% of government spending.

And I'm not saying they don't deserve help.

I am saying that the government doesn't have the right to take one citizen's money by force, and give it to others.
 

Crucible

BANNED
Banned
And I'm not saying they don't deserve help.

I am saying that the government doesn't have the right to take one citizen's money by force, and give it to others.

It's a bit more complex than that, I think. For one, the government is for the people- if it's going to exist beyond simply being an automation of taxes and foreign representation, it must exist as an entity that ultimately serves the interest of society.

It doesn't do well for a country to have poverty. Welfare and whatnot are the reason we don't have slums and people starving, which would cause an even bigger problem- society doesn't really want that, even if they fail to fully realize it.

As it stands now, people don't starve in this country, and people rarely ever die due to living in inhospitable conditions. 'Poverty' is really relative to the one's nearby with wealth- in many places of the world, a person in even the most critical of circumstances here would be considered lucky.
 

musterion

Well-known member
And I'm not saying they don't deserve help.

I am saying that the government doesn't have the right to take one citizen's money by force, and give it to others.

Anyone who COULD work...has intelligence, physical ability and opportunity to do something...but won't, and expects a handout, doesn't need help. That person is a loser and deserves to be hungry and homeless.
 

glassjester

Well-known member
Anyone who COULD work...has intelligence, physical ability and opportunity to do something...but won't, and expects a handout, doesn't need help. That person is a loser and deserves to be hungry and homeless.

And I'd be willing to help them anyway.

But the government shouldn't force me to.
 
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