“Welfare's purpose should be to eliminate, as far as possible, the need for its own existence.”

Yes and thus parents should raise their children to know the value of study, work, industry and creativity and we should make the greatest form of welfare illegal, that being the god awful practice of INHERITANCE.

Welfare is an evil perversion in and of itself.

I believe Reagan is talking about the government Welfare System. Extending the issue to Inheritance, even though both Welfare and Inheritance have in common that many times they grow spoiled brats, eliminating Inheritance would not have much of an impact in society. If I am correct, parents have other legal means to leave their assets to their children. Inheritance seems to be just to facilitate the procedures. Additionally, we don't want to get close to Communism and make ourselves all equal inand poor instead of making opportunities all equal and accessible to us, since we are all created equal. ... Yes, we are. With opportunities, even one who is born poor has the power to change his and his family economical status. I love Ronald Reagan. He was indeed for progress and opportunities. He was for the people, while his position was for the government.

Waffler, nuts again. Why shouldn't people be allowed to pass on what is theirs to their family. It sure as hell doesn't belong to the government.

Jim K, Waffler sees us all as tenants on the government farm. Therefore, we don't "own" anything, let alone enjoy Freedom and Liberty as Soveriegn Individuals as prescribed by the Constitution. He's truly a dyed in the wool socialist and being an American himself is purely an accident of birth.

What a hypocrite, Waffler. OK, turn in all the property you inherited from your father including his guns that you so often mention. Yeah, sure, work a lifetime to pay off a mortgage on your family farm and then make your family buy it again from the government when you die. Yeah, sure, punish those that work and take responsibility for themselves and then snatch their property from them to give to those who would not turn a shovel to feed themselves. You are a communist, Waffler, except you expect a privileged post in the bureacracy. In Waffle-world, we don't inherit our family's property but we do inherit their debts. Karl Marx would be proud,

Not sure how to rate this or comment with stars. As I've explained ad nauseam, welfare is a duty of religion, not a representative republic's government of free sovereigns. A government with religious tenets (welfare) is a theocracy. The Constitution provides for no authority or implied causation for such religious tenets. Reagan's theocratic intentions may be all well and good but not a lawful part of the de jure USA's system. Carlton and Archer, said very well ! ! !

Waffler in the above comment, once again declares his god. The God of the Old and New Testaments instituted inheritance. Socialism being Wafflers god, does not allow private ownership and giving something to one's heir, or otherwise chosen, is god awful because the state that claims ownership doesn't get it.

"Our democracy shall cease when we remove the labors of those who worked for it, and give to those who would not." --Thomas Jefferson-- Welfare and Inheritance are two completely different objects. Welfare is when a living group is forced to give a portion of their wealth to the state who redistributes it to those whom it decides are "less-fortunate" (often those labeled as less-fortunate are done so by their own design). Inheritance is when a person chooses who receives the wealth, that they have earned throughout their life, after their death. In a free country, people can spend their money as they wish, so why should I not be allowed, at the time of my death, to invest my wealth on the future of my children?

Welfare is justifiable not by law from government but by conviction from God. God is the overseer of welfare; it is He who decides who needs help, who can help and commands them to do so. Whenever any government attempts this, it will always screw it up.