Ah.. classical economics.. where everything made sense. You must have been reading some mighty old textbooks. Don't let your prof see you reading anything other than neo-classical economics texts these days.. or the idea that money actually "trickles up" might caatch on again.. Can't have that now. Back near 100 years ago, the cabals of the wealthy got together and, based on their experience from the depression, realized that the financial impact to them of an entire segment of society being in dire poverty was catastrophic. In order to preserve what they had and to keep complete social breakdown from occuring, they realized the option of treating the problem with increased policing jails and hospitalization was more expensive by several *orders of magnitude* , whereas providing a no questions asked stipend for the poor, single moms (there were no single dads beck then) , the elderly, and sick was far less considering the benefits to them (the wealthy). Compassion wasn't a factor in the decision. Somewhere down the line, however, they got so wealthy that the conditions in society at large could no longer touch them, and so they stayed out of any debates where people started asking "why are we supporrting these poor, sick, and elderly freeloaders? "If they're poor it's because they're too lazy to work", and "if they're sick or elderly, they're just taking up hospital bed space that could be used by a deserving young person.. .." If they'd rather die than go to a welfare hospital, then let them die ..all the better to decrease the surplus population." After all - "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?" "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?" (THX Mr Dickens!) So there's no surprise that since the purse strings for social sevices dried up, society has gone to rot. The Cabal of the wealthy knew the consequences of such actions, even 100 years ago...
