[RKC]

Nice "fishing" quote, but even though the broad idea is correct, it has been interpreted too narrowly.

Becoming self-sufficient is a good idea - and a better idea than welfare. But if the fish are over-harvested, or if the industry that a man has learned his trade in vanishes, then the parable hasn't gone far enough.

If we have no safety net, then when an industry fails, a man and his family fail. This is not the best, most dynamic economy I can conceive of. This isn't the best use of the capacity of a man. I think a little money to allow for some time off to re-train would be a higher use of our funds. This makes the economy more adaptive, and the man less likely to fall into crime. This in turn protects the safety and property of the country, just as surely as our military and police do.

Everyone gains something from this use of our tax money, just as we here in the Midwest gain something from the US Navy, even though we derive no practical, immediate benefit from it. Why? Because to live in a society where we are allowed to perform at our best, and, if we fail, allowed to try again, makes everything work better, just as the economy in Chicago works better because New York and Los Angeles are protected from amphibious landings.