DBP
I agree with you, kgdlg and r/b.
Personally, I don’t think welfare cheating is a huge problem for the economy, and certainly not in comparison with the money wasted on wars. And, like you, I believe that the best way out of unemployment is through economic stimulus. But right now, I’m trying to work out the best way to deal with the hoopers of the world.* And I’m trying to do it without resorting to either TM or MJ.
******************
In spite of my occasional diatribes, I don’t think hooper is such a bad sort, really. Honestly, I think he just wants attention. Since he makes a valid point now and then, however, it does not seem right to just freeze him out. For our own good, we need to be addressing the occasional lucid argument he makes, because he is certainly not alone in raising some of these issues. And while we’re doing that, we can also encourage better behavior on his part. We can start by requiring him to put more intellectual elbow grease into his posts.
So, for example, if hooper says something like: People on welfare don’t deserve it, we can come back with: Who are you talking about, exactly? Where’s your proof?
If he does provide some numbers (on welfare fraud, for example) we can come back with: How important is that in comparison with, say, waste in the military?
Even if we were to simply grant his theses that there is welfare fraud and it’s a major problem, there is still the question of what’s to be done about it. Is hooper’s solution to cut everyone off wholesale? If so, let him state that openly, so we can evaluate it as an option. Otherwise, let him propose a different solution. But the idea is to make HIM do some of the brain work for a change.
Which reminds me . . .
hoops, we’re still waiting to hear some concrete ideas from you. Now’s your chance to shine, dude. If ya got it in ya.
***********************************
* kootchman, et al.