>>The taxes that we've paid have repaid the government for its investment hundreds of thousands of times.

In fairness, if society uproots a person and sends them into harm's way for some years, society does have an obligation to help those people accelerate back into society rather than starting back where they were when the uprooting occurred. Paying wages during the uprooting doesn't cut it.

Plus there's the evidence that considered investment in people almost always pays you back many times over. The lesson of success is to invest as willingly and early as you can, whether it be in people or business or infrastructure or whatever it may be, because every year of delay adds to massively increased obligation when the time eventually comes. In living memory, it used to be possible to buy a home for a cost that could be paid on a credit card today. The Hoover dam today might not stack up financially. Interstates couldn't be achieved at all. And so it goes on. Carping about cost for me, me, me leads to Medicare deficits and all over the world it almost always makes things worse for future generations who end up picking up a giant tab.

In the end, a nation is its people and it's worth investing in ourselves. There should be no stigma to government contributions that help lift society's game whether it be GI Bills or Hoover dams. Always there will be freeloaders and undesirables at the edge of society whether they be white collar crims, banksters, mafia types or lazy ne'er-do'wells, but we need to grit our teeth and focus on the success stories- the ones who we lifted to greatness- rather than the leeches. Always looking for the dark cloud whenever you hear about a silver lining just makes you miserable. Sheesh, the US used to be upbeat and confident and unfailingly generous of spirit- but now there's an overwhelming sense of jealousy and carping dissent. Despite all setbacks, you guys have so much to be happy about! As long as you're in the Middle Class or better, that is. So tell your affluent countryfolk to snap out of it. ;-)