Jeremy:
As I see it, your assessment is a good one!
My initial hijacking of an innocent thread and twisting into the outragious extreme is an example of what government bureaucracy, regardless of party, seems to do with or to an idea that on the surface appears as and starts out as benign or of well meaning intent. The principle of moderation in all things, gets lost on govt. bureaucracy.
Socialist indeavers or "organized group charity" in the form of the Salvation Army or Habitat For Humanity for example, at local level under local control are the most efficient at providing far greater benefit for those in need. But, we on a local level are the only ones that can that can make that possible by contributing either time, money or both to help those most deserving and keep the feds out of it. However, even at a local level, there can be terrible waste. As an example, a church I used to be affiliated with, elected to spend 350K on expansion and "enhancements". The expansion was primarily for larger social gatherings while the enhancements were primarily in the form of decorative gold leaf and if budget permitted, offer pampers to indigent unwed mothers. Now, I don't claim to be a good Christain - not even close - probably wouldn't even see the Cross without my binoculars, but pseudos/phoneys turn my stomach.
The way I see towards any long term improvement in government at all levels and solving most problems, be they health care, environmental, energy, standard of living, or a decreased grey matter population, is through education. Education in a local system where there is more emphasis on the "3 Rs"and teaching saleable skills and all involved are held accountable. Participation in the education system decision making might get us there - apathy won't.
Received several PM's from those who know me and figured out where I was headed in the original post. They chose to stay on the sidelines to avoid the ire and attempts at intimidation that controversial issues have been shown to draw lately.
BTW, getting good people, qualified people, real and genuine leaders to run for todays public office is an issue we might tackle in the future. If I have anything to do with it, you had best hang on, cause it might be a wild ride also.
Thanks for participating.
Mike
Revisions were for typos.