What I find peculiar about Dixie is for a man who claims to be doing so well financially he is adamantly opposed to helping others. I question if he is just a bitter individual or whether his claimed financial success is nothing more than a dream which he realizes he'll never attain.
Here's the thing. You and I have a different philosophy on "helping others" and what that entails. Your philosophy is, to give a man a fish, then apologize for not having more fish, and promise to fight with his political support, to get him more fish from the rich greedy people who have all the fish. My philosophy is, show him where the fish pond is, teach him to fish, and let him have at it! I think my philosophy is better than yours, that's all.
When I objectively look at the
TRILLIONS this nation has spent fighting the war on poverty over the past 50 years, I can't help but wonder, what if we had put all that money into backing capitalist ventures, like creating the Internet and cell phones, and the returns on that money had been tucked away in a specified account with each poor person's name on it... they'd all be multi-billionaires by now, I would suppose. But we didn't, we dolled out a few pennies here and there, and kept crumbs on the table for them, and today in 2012... our poverty level is essentially unchanged. Your solution is more of the same.
I am financially comfortable. I don't live "well-off" because I am happier with a more simple life. I don't care to have more, I am content with what I have. Most people with my finances, would not live like me, and that's okay, I get it! I understand everyone has their own way, and that's cool. I happen to know a good many people who are driven to success, and have become wealthy here in America. That's the thing, that's the reason people come here! Because, if you have the desire and motivation to succeed, you will. From my perspective, we need to teach poor people how to become motivated and that will lead to success. One of the best motivators for any person, is a empty belly. Sorry, but that's just the facts. When you are hungry, it motivates like nothing else. Now, I am not heartless, I don't want you to mistake my philosophical point here, because I do believe we are our brother's keeper, and we have a moral obligation to provide for people who are truly in need. But we've jumped the shark on that one... we have obese people drawing welfare checks because they are too lazy to lose weight. There's a guy in NJ(I think) who believes he is an infant for half the day, and at lunch, he turns into a normal functioning adult, capable of going to the store to buy hardware so he can build a giant crib.... he draws disability. We're not "helping" anyone in need here, we are wasting and squandering hard earned money on silliness, because in your mind, you are "helping" by doing that. ...And you want to do MORE of it!