“Welfare mostly subsidizes people in poverty, helping few escape from it. In their hearts, most people who are poor would like to be rich, or at least self-sustaining, but this president never talks about how they might achieve that goal. Instead, he criticizes those who made the right choices and now enjoy the fruits of their labor. Rather than use successful people as examples for the poor to follow, the president seeks to punish the rich with higher taxes and more regulations on their businesses.”

The only "welfare" that exists now a days is corporate welfare. Clinton killed Welfare more than a decade ago. He replaced Welfare with Welfare to work, which means ghetto moms are only able to collect welfare if they're actively seeking employment provably. This whole nonsense debate about "entitlements" and "welfare" is bogus as there are NO ENTITLEMENTS left. The same people who are eligible for Social Security are who fund it. Social Security is NOT an entitlement but a retirement and disability fund, built by the people to whom it is paid. The government stole it, spent it on warfare, now they wish to not pay back what they stole out of the Social Security fund and spent on war which had 30% support of the US electorate. Rich people don't enjoy the fruits of their labor, they enjoy the fruits of their slaves. The class war they've conducted is self deprecating, it tends to drive effort to defeat it far larger than the 1% conducting it can muster in waging it. Their only option to do the damage to society they wish, to depopulate Earth as billionaires like David Rockefeller have so long called, is nuclear war. Thus nuclear brinkmanship with nuke armed ICBM lobbing Pakistan has been ratcheted up. The next stage of the dominants war moves beyond class war and enforces war on everybody til total human eradication is accomplished.

He nails Obama and what that man does not believe or understand. The genius of America is the right and ability for anyone, regardless of race, religion, or any other label you might mention, to rise to the top, like cream on the old milk bottle, based on personal initiative and the willingness to do hard work. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both understood this because they each did it! Our federal gov't right now is a mess. Dan is correct on the point that Congress stole the money that was paid in to fund Social Security and they used it to buy votes. Anywhere else in our society they would go to jail for fraud, theft, and a host of other charges. Sadly, Congress has become a law unto itself. Unless we turn this around and get back on the path that has led to one triumph after another for the USA, some author-type out there will be writing "The Decline and Fall of the American Empire." Not a happy thought.

The word, for what is being done, in our capital, is a simple but strong one...treason, high treason. I used to think ill make my fortune, and live my life, and not bother with politics. Now, before i die, i wish with all my heart, and pray, that my country will man up, and take back our government. Im an ol man, so i wont be around much longer, we MUST leave a country for our kids, at least with half the chance we had. Yes, they act as though they are above the law, when in fact, they answer to the people. We have over 60 years of slow degeneration to correct. And it CAN be done.

Outside of local community organizations, welfare of any kind is a travesty and morally wrong. It's a system of control.

Daniel of Newport, There are currently over 40 million people in this country on food stamps. If this isn't welfare, what would you call it ? Your comment on rich people is ridiculous beyond words.

He has done no such thing. Poor folk especially of the black race have taken encouragement and optimism from the success of Barack Obama. Black student achievement, self esteem, has increased significantly because of him. The Bush tax cuts were a mistake from the beginning and they were legislated to be "temporary". They must expire. They and the Cheney Administration (aka Bush) are the cause of the nations financial problems. The Cheney doctrine "deficits and debt don't matter" was and is BS. Daniel is on to some good thinking. Social Security and Medicare are only entitlements because we paid for them. The money does not come from the government but from us who paid for it.

jim, don't forget the "Obama Phones". We the taxpayers are providing the welfare class with cell phones because it's a "right" to have one. Why should they have to work or pay their own bills, right?

Waffler, you are truly nuts. It's not "self esteem" that black folks need, it's jobs. You get self esteem by doing the right things, not because some nit wit socialist was elected president.

Rather than offer a helping hand up to the poor, the author suggests that we congratulate the powerful for placing their boot upon the throat of the poor... and help them press down upon that throat... good to see that America's Taliban has such good moral & ethical values (NOT!).

Not everyone will be rich. The poor will be with us always. The rich should share and not be like the rich man who refused to give the poor man at his gate the crumbs from his table.

I would bet that all those who can actually swallow the thinking (?) of Cal Thomas also call themselves 'Christian." If so, what gross cognitive dissonance.

Waffler, Anonymous,Reston, and George Draine - anyone with any common sense would quickly realize that trying to have an articulate and rational discussion with any of you might as well talk to a wall. At least a wall cannot come back at you with irrational Progressive-socialist illogical arguments! Most of those with any form of wealth, i.e., those who have been responsible to save, invest and insure have been abundantly charitable to their fellow man. It has been displayed numerous times in individual generosity after 9/11/2001-, hurricanes, floods, and other disasters that have taken place throughout the world when people have opened their wallets without any government mandate or dictate. It is displayed daily by those of us who have volunteered in food pantries and donating food, clothing, money and time to help those in need without the dictates of nameless, faceless and costly bureaucrats who suck the life blood out of those who are productive and creative. Most of those who are successful enough to become millionaires and billionaires have not only created jobs, but have also created or donated to foundations to help those in need. One example is Danny Thomas who started St. Jude's Children's Hospital. So all of you that I named above can keep streaming your idiotic and false platitudes -because those of us with the ability to suffer with common sense and cognitive thinking know you for what you are - the Wesley Mouch's of this world!

Not shooting the messenger, kinda sorta but, way to simplistic to be of too much value. It is true that Mr. Obamunist Goodwrench the assassin of the occupying statist theocracy would rather play golf, basketball, anything but act in the de jure office of chief executive of the constitutional representative republic and, he would rather criticize / blame someone else for his unlawful beliefs / actions, and failure to provide solutions to a slave mentality (so that part of the quote is true) but it really doesn't address the greater subject matter's stage of class warfare and the government's part in creating an entire society of slaves.

Mary, said well again. Waffler, where is Mr. Obamunist Goodwrench the assassin's plan(s) or, even encouragement, for the poor to become entrepreneurs or how to become givers instead of takers. Where is the fiscally lawful plan for growing wealth - that the poor may find jobs? How has subsidizing most anything not increased it (poverty, dictatorships, etc.)? The 'A' from Reston, talking in vain and substantiveless platitudes only gives a tingle up the leg of intellectual liberals (not those looking for truth or real lawful answers). Your "American Taliban" more closely relates to the liberal / neocon (GE, Sorros, Wall Street, most specifically government, etc.), not the successful hard working individual (see Mary's comment). dick, it is your religion's beliefs, canons and otherwise implementation that has caused all the problems we are now experiencing and which this quote has addressed. If you're calling your belief system cognitive honesty, give me gross cognitive dissonance any day.

Mike the government has no money to create jobs. If you read the news you would know that the corporations have trillions of cash. The corporations should give the cash to their employees and let them spend it and thus increase consumption. What we are now experiencing is the "capitalist fallacy". The petty micro capitalist is only interested in himself. He makes money on his workers labor but does not pay them enough so they can go out and by the product of another capitalist. The capitalist meet in their country clubs and bewail the fact that they are selling anything. If they would all increase wages then the workers of all the capitalist could buy each others products. Those stuck in this micro environment cannot see the macro or big picture of the nation and they call on the government to do it all. The poor government bailed them all out and now it is time for them to return the favor. Increase their taxes and let government spend the money on waht the nation needs, road and bridge repair, etcetera ad infinitem.