>>>And my point about the larger stipend in SF is that someone has to figure out all this stuff... the federal govt. maybe? So how are we saving money be doing this?
>>
>>Duh, gee, let's just give a voucher for $25 so they can afford a moving box. Do you have no imagination at all?!? Or do you want me to devise the entire program right here and now. You are being somewhat obtuse here.
>>
>>I would bet the Census Bureau has avg cost of housing figures. I hear news reports occasionally about avg costs here. There is already a fed program in place. It's called HUD.
>
>My point is that it is still a federal bureaucracy, something I thought you were arguing against earlier.

I am arguing against needless bureaucracy. We got into this mess via legislative incrementalism over the last 50 years. It would be foolish to think we can move back overnight toward the private sector [including FAMILIES] providing for the needs of the destitute, our elders, etc. We have to start somewhere.

Although, I see no downside to immediately abolishing most or all of the following:

1. Dept of Education -- States and local school districts are key to education. This was created to appease the Teacher Unions and has done nothing to improve education especially when compared to its costs in taxpayer money.

2. Dept of Commerce unless someone can explain what really useful purpose this Dept serves.

3. Dept of Energy -- what a waste of energy this is < g >

4. Dept of Agriculture -- no longer need US gov't to market our ag products internationally

5. EPA -- States do the vast majority of what EPA was established to do now anyway. The Federal layer does not do much more that oversight of State programs now and dole out grants. Congress could send the money directly to the States and bypass the middle-man.

6. Much of the IRS. Establish flat tax.

7. Most of the Dept of Transportation -- one exception would be FAA but eventually get rid of that as well. Airports and airlines should be responsible for this. Our tickets would go up, but our net income would also go up to offset this as long as we get commensurate tax relief from all these budget reductions [i.e., see #6].

8. All farm subsidies that pay farmers not to grow particular crops.

How's that for a start.