"Bill McKee" wrote in message
nk.net...

wrote in message
ups.com...
Cut welfare programs. They make up nearly 55% of the
federal budget.


A grossly (and intentionally) inaccurate statement.

****************

Actually, about 55-58% of the budget *is* entitlements.
The payouts include social security, medicare, medicaid, veterans
benefits, federal retirement, etc.

I guess you could say that 50-some percent of the federal budget goes
to "welfare" if you want to clasify virtually every retired person over
62-65 years of age in the US as a "welfare recipient". I'd guess a lot
of folks bitching about 50-some percent of the budget going to
"welfare" probably get some of that 50-some percent money every month,
but would shoot the first person to accuse them of being on "welfare".


Social Security comes out of the "SS Trust Fund", so is off budget?

Don't make me laugh. Off budget?

Bert, replying to these idiots only encourages their crossposting. There is
also the potential that they will continue to crosspost to this group on
future postings. I would guess that is how Krause found this group some 10
years ago.

Ignore them.

On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 07:47:02 -0400, "JimH" wrote:

Ignore them.

SHUN THEM!!!

MAKE THEM OUTCASTS!!!

SHAME THEM!!!

Sure, we shouldn't harden our hearts to the suffering of the poor or
the
disabled, that's a horrible thing to do...but why is it the
government's
job to deal with that, rather than the work of private charity? Why
can't
we help without being forced at the point of a gun (and do not deny
that
it is at gunpoint, else what would the IRS' own SWAT teams for, and why

does the US government arm IRS agents?)

***********

Private charities can and should relieve some of the immediate
suffering.

The role of government is to create and ensure a just society. Only
government can do that.
Example: Until the government passed anti-discrimination laws, certain
groups of people were relegated to 2nd or 3rd class status without
recourse or equitable opportunity for advancement. It was the way
"things have always been". Churches had been "preaching" against
discrimination for 100 years, all the while distributing basekts of
food and worn out clothing to the very same populations the parishoners
were discriminating against on a daily basis.

To say, "Those folks who choose to go to church can deal with the
social problems and the rest of us shouldn't have to worry about them
at all" is a very narrow viewpoint.