Comment Re:Brazil (Score 1) 683
Which is exactly why it is so shortsighted to cut on welfare programs
Welfare is bread and circuses. It's great for creating a pathologically dependent (though not starving) lower class, but not for creating a middle class. IMHO a middle class requires considerable private demand for skilled labor. That means getting out of the way of those who create those jobs.
If the welfare is handouts that are entirely at the whim of the rich, then yes, you create a pathologically dependent lower class. However, a reliable safety net allows people to take more risks because they know they can fall back on that safety net. That allows those people to create jobs.