In some countries of the world, the central government has formally made it a policy to ensure that the population will have a certain minimum standard of life, including healthcare, elder care, housing and a minimum income. For life. Germany, France, England, Italy, and others. This is largely why all of the refugees want to get to those countries.
The U.S. has NEVER MADE THAT POLICY DECISION. In fact, our Constitution PRHIBITS the Federal Government from spending taxpayer money on those items. You would never know it to hear Democrats talk, but it is a fact. If the U.S. population, acting through their representatives in Congress and the state legislatures, want to make that policy decision they can do so - maybe it would be a good idea - but it WOULD REQUIRE A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.
Accordingly, our individual tax structure is much lower than it is in the countries that have decided to provide the Social Safety Net. In all of those countries, the middle-class pays at least 50% of their gross earnings in taxes, all taxes considered (e.g., US$8.00 per gallon of gas).
So to say that we want the same sort of guaranteed income and benefits that they have in Western Europe and Japan, while NOT saying that we are willing to pay twice as much in taxes to pay for it, is bullshit.
All our Government is obliged to do is to provide a safe and secure society, to provide enforcement of legal contracts, to provide an efficacious system of patents and copyrights (along with the legal means to enforce patent and IP rights), and to deliver the mail. Everything else is up to us.
If some people get crazy-rich (legally, of course), and some other people are dirt-poor, that's all part of the Plan; it's nobody's fault, and it is not a failure of Government to do its job.
People who look to the U.S. Government, or to the next President to provide "Prosperity" are fools, tools, and too stupid to vote, if you ask me.
