The alarming stupidity of people like the OP.
The ability to critically think is simply hammered by their inability to get beyond idealism.
Just a simple fact, although I am of course wasting my time...to the OP..the progressive/liberal social programs of the late 1960's - 1980's has done so much incredible harm to America's poor and minorities that to still support these same policies shows a clear handicap of the mind.
You have to either be young and stupid or in the dark of your parents basement to believe that Republicans have hurt poor people more than Democrats.
You have been listening to too much Rush Limbaugh and the like.
Social welfare programs do not damage the country. I know it is the 'thing' here for Republicans to put down European economies, though you know almost nothing about them, but in the EU countries, where social welfare programs are working, we can see that it doesn't destroy the work ethic of the people. The economies there that are in serious trouble have those problems due to banking issues, just like in the US, not due to social welfare programs. There may be people in the US and in the EU who take advantage of such systems, but the vast majority of those who use them are deserving. As well, such programs help everyone, not just the needy. Would you actually want to live in a country where the children are not educated, where hoards of poor people were begging on the streets, and/or where sick people did not have access to medical care?
As well, the percentage of $ out of your personal pocket to pay for food stamps is miniscule. I keep reading on here "I am paying for these people (food stamp recipients) to buy junk food." The fact is, an individual taxpayer is paying very, very little toward this program: it is only a small percentage of your tax dollar. So even if it were being misspent, it is hardly such a big deal about which to get yourself in such a self righteous rage.