The Welfare States of America

"If the false charge against capitalism is that it allows 'the strong' to exploit 'the weak'," write Yaron Brook and Don Watkins in Forbes, "then the true nature of the welfare state is that it allows 'the weak' -- i.e., the unproductive -- to exploit 'the strong' -- i.e., the productive."

And exploiting they are. The Davey family, for instance, made headlines in 2010 for receiving £42,000 in state-provided benefits while driving a Mercedes, enjoying cutting-edge electronics, and continuing to have children (at the time of the story they had seven with another on the way). Mrs. Davey had never worked, and Mr. Davey had quit his job after he figured out he could do better by living on the dole. “I don’t feel bad about being subsidized by people who are working,” Mrs. Davey told The Daily Mail.

This sort of story does not represent some bizarre failure of the system—it captures the system’s spirit.

The U.S. has its own examples: the Michigan lottery winner who continued to collect food stamps and the prison inmates using food stamps behind bars.

On July 12, the Obama Administration added a powerful new weapon that the 'unproductive' can use to fleece the 'productive'.