Barack Obama has said that Abraham Lincoln is his political hero.  That being the case President Obama might want to recall the following from President Lincoln.

“Property is the fruit of labor. Property is desirable, is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently to build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence.”

With increasing percentages of our population, currently over 40%, not paying any Federal income tax, that portion of the voting population incentives are to demand more in the way of government programs, and with their votes support those that  favor the current setup  The end result is  that those that do pay income taxes must surrender a larger portion of the fruits of their labor.

One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, said the following; “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not”.

Do we need a safety net?  Yes, however the incentives in that safety net should be focused on providing ways to bring that portion of our population into the group that pays taxes not one that perpetuates the status quo.