[ExI] Usages of the term libertarianism

[BillK]

On Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 4:24 AM, Rafal Smigrodzki  wrote:
> On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 1:03 PM, BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:
>> But I doubt that 44 million people are cheating the system. I think
>> they are desperate for food to survive. Claiming and using food stamps
>> is not a lifestyle that many families aspire to.
>
> ### You'd be surprised how many do, Bill. I see them all the time in my office.
> (Of course, I think food stamps should be abolished)
>
>


You have to look at the evidence.
(Of course I agree that there are always some people who will take
whatever they can get for free. But that is a minimal overhead cost to
achieve the greater benefit).

About half the people who claim food stamps are 'working poor'. They
work crappy, part-time, low pay jobs, sometimes two or three jobs at
once, trying to survive. They are not idle wasters.

Walmart will tell you about the queues that form at midnight on the
last day of the month as people stock up on baby food and essentials
as soon as the food stamps credit takes effect. People don't choose to
shop at midnight unless they have to.  These people are barely
surviving and probably haven't got any spare time to shop during
normal hours.

Your libertarian policy of letting 44 million people starve to force
them to get nice well paid jobs is obviously useless in the present
economic situation. Your policy would probably lead to civil unrest
and widespread looting. Do you think the government doesn't appreciate
this?


BillK