Low wages or high welfare? A little of both. There has to be a significant difference between what you can make working, vs. not working, to give people an economic incentive to work. I like the salary matching idea. Or just raise the minimum wage a bunch. Whatever, it's all good.

.....

I think I have figured out what is going on with Allstar, compared to myself and Stony and some others. Basically, Allstar has one point and one point only: if you can work but don't, you shouldn't expect to be supported.

(I totally agree with this, by the way!)

The problem that I have, and if I'm reading Stony right he agrees with me, is that this is outrage directed only at the idle poor. I was wondering if Allstar saves some of his outrage for the idle rich as well. (And, if not, why not?) Other people pointed out similar things with respect to corporate welfare. Stony pointed out that most tax money that gets wasted does not get wasted on poor people. Allstar agrees with all of this, he agrees that, corporate welfare is bad and idle rich folks are also worthless schmucks and that tax money is mostly not wasted on poor people -- but he doesn't see the connection between these conversations and what he wants to talk about.

Allstar, the reason we're bringing these things up is that they're all connected. Outrage at poor people collecting welfare benefits for not working is something that is intentionally stirred up by Republicans, especially near voting times. Because they hope that you will think only about this issue, and how much you are disgusted by poor people who don't work. They hope that you will give this issue a lot of prominence in your thinking when you go to the polls.

They are also hoping that you will not give a lot of thought to where the real waste, corruption, greed, and mismanagement of this country has been going. Literally hundreds of billions of dollars of corporate welfare has been handed out over the past 7 years: thousands of dollars for every man, woman, and child in the country. Several hundreds of billions more for the Iraq war: another several thousand for every man, woman, and child. Massive tax cuts for the very, very richest Americans, those making more than $1 million every year. (Even Kenny won't get close to that level this year. ) Cutting veterans' benefits. Forcing soldiers to pay for their own body armor, their own food, even their own medical care in many cases. Cutting loans and grants for college. Cutting aid to states and cities, with the result that there are fewer policemen on the street and fewer other services. Just unbelievable numbers of billions of dollars squandered for the rich, and in turn taken from programs that actually help regular people like you and me who are doing OK, as well as those who are struggling a little to make ends meet.

The Republican party really, really wants you to be so outraged by the two bucks or so that your taxes are contributing to welfare cheats and people who could work but don't, that you will ignore the thousands of dollars that are coming out of your pocket to pay for unnecessary war and corporate welfare and tax breaks for millionaires.

So. Be outraged at welfare cheats and lazy bums all you want. I am upset, too! I work hard too! But I also understand that making you and me angry at these people is an intentional misdirection tactic, by people who stand to get very, very, very rich off of the government, if only you and I and the rest of America don't notice what they're doing.