One problem with handouts is that if you offer something for nothing, the numbers lining up for it expand indefinitely. In 1963 the U.S. secretary of agriculture assured lawmakers that federal food stamps “could be expanded over a period of years to about 4 million needy people.” Fifty years later the country’s population had not even doubled, but this handout had grown to 47.6 million recipients—and in a time of economic recovery.
Handouts can leave recipients less capable of taking care of themselves by lowering the drive to work, encouraging recipients to have children they can’t support, or enabling addicts to continue indulging.
Read Full Article »