>I am not completely against a welfare state - I have no issue with paying SOME taxes, recognizing the interest in a government to protect us and recognizing the value in certain public works.
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>Actually, I think it would be a great idea if the able bodied people able to work who are currently on the dole did something to earn that welfare check like collecting trash, plowing the streets after a big snowfall, or working on fixing the roads, Oh, wait a minute - the parasitic unions would have a problem with that, wouldn't they?

And yet, that is one of the things that Obama is suggesting that the country does. Use people who are out of work to rebuild infrastructure, clean up, etc.