>Proof/links can be asked in case of hard and dry numbers, e.g. if some person claims that stock ABC was traded at $9.99 3 months ago then this number can be proved or disproved. However, demanding a link in case of opinion and/or first-hand knowledge is plain ridiculuos. One can spend certain amount of time on web and find unlimited number of links to unlimited sources of any views/opinions. Many of these sources will even contain numbers, still proving nothing except that such opinion exists, primarily because free speech and technical abilities allow to post anything about everything.
>Basically, a person can either agree or disagree with an opponent, and/or try to explain positions; but brushing aside an opinion by pretense of "links" is not the best discourse.


I got kind of lost in this conversation. What numbers/proofs/links are you asking for? As far as I understood, some people, you and Marcia for example, claim that the abuse of the welfare system is widespread, and although no hard numbers have being provided, for example 20% or 1%, the way it was presented seems to me that those percentages are very significant. I think a good step toward clarification would be that instead of saying how many people has been seen buying caviar and champagne with coupons (or any kind of abuse) the people making those claims give actual numbers that can be corroborated, and not waiting for the others to prove them wrong, don't you agree?