Ummmm ... whatever makes you think they are all lazy.

What would you do ??? Stone them all. Because they don't have your perspective.

Heaven forbid you become ill, or are taken by an unexpected event and need to reach out for assistance.

Just remember, karma is in force, and the power of attraction is in play.

And, those paying taxes...do they see where there money is being given? I think sometimes the ones who are more seen are the ones rorting the system rather than the genuine ones who need and deserve help. I am not sure if the government is making people 'lazy' as such, but I get the sense the process of community helping some of its members in their time of need has been very dehumanised...going both ways.

So I spend my working life paying taxes for the benefit of others but then I'm told to stack away what little I have left in my own retirement fund because the cupboard may be bare when I get there.

"Suppose that every day 10 men go to a restaurant for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100. If it was paid the way we pay our taxes, the first four men would pay nothing; the fifth would pay $1; the sixth would pay $3; the seventh $7; the eighth $12; the ninth $18. The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59."

The 10 men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement until the restaurant owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20."

Now dinner for the 10 only costs $80. The first four are unaffected. They still eat for free. The men had to figure out how to divvy up the $20 savings among the remaining six so that everyone gets his fair share. The men realize that $20 divided by 6 is $3.33, but if they subtract that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would end up being paid to eat their meal.

The restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same percentage, being sure to give each a break, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so now the fifth man paid nothing, the sixth pitched in $2, the seventh paid $5, the eighth paid $9, the ninth paid $12, leaving the tenth man with a bill of $52 instead of $59.

Outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20 discount," complained the sixth man, pointing to the tenth, "and he got $7!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got seven times more than me!"

"That's true," shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $7 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor."

Then, the nine men surrounded the tenth man (the richest one, paying the most) and beat him up.

The next night the richest man didn't show up for dinner, so now the nine men sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They were $52 short.

And how sad that the perceived answer to sustaining the balance is for us all to keep breeding simply to try to produce more taxpayers to support the outgoings, when our environment is struggling with population pressures as it is.

I saw a budget pie chart and remember that welfare in some form or other is about 65% of the total budget for the country.

Total welfare expenditure in 2005-06 was $90.2 billion, of which $61.3 billion (68%) was cash benefits and $28.9 billion (32%) benefits-in-kind (welfare services). Spending on welfare services in 2005-06 was 3.0% of GDP or $1,404 per person.

Well balanced views as usual from Naamah and Julian.

I saw a budget pie chart and remember that welfare in some form or other is about 65% of the total budget for the country.

Spending on welfare services in 2005-06 was 3.0%

Government revenues

Direct taxes
* $142 billion (includes personal income tax $98.7 billion, company tax $36.3 billion)

Indirect taxes
* $27.6 billion (includes customs duties $5.6 billion, fuel excise $13.5 billion)

Total income $187.6 billion

Government expenses
The government spends money on many things but the major expenses are for a few departments with big programs. These include:

* Twice a year, the Parliament scrutinises how the government has spent these funds.
* Defence $12.9 billion
* Education $13.3 billion
* Health $31.7 billion
* Social Security $80.1 billion

Makes me think of parents in some third world countries who continue having more and more children only to watch them starve, in the belief that more children equals more wealth. Humans are the same the world over.