I've really enjoyed reading all the opinions and thoughts put forth on this. I feel compelled to add a few of my own.

For the record, I hate welfare. I don't think it is the responsibility of the state to support it's citizens, especially not in perpetuity. That said, I think welfare and many other programs have their place and their need.

The focus for me here, is less about what the government can and can't do to remedy the situation, and a great deal more about what we as citizens can do. I'm relatively new to Salon, but find here a community of intelligent, active, and sincere participants. I'm greatly enjoying the involvement I'm able to take here, and look forward to more. As some of you may be coming to realize, I don't trust the Government in the US, either Federal or State.

I don't trust them for many reasons that aren't really important, except to note that I don't trust them at all. Why this matters at all is because I think it's a major error to try and get the government to do the 'right' thing, because the government almost never does the 'right' thing. If the screwy judicial system that is involved in this case isn't enough example we have only to look at the state of Health-Care, Don't Ask Don't Tell, our Military actions, and a host of other behaviors to realize that our system has major issues.

Unlike most anarchists, I don't believe that the solution is revolution, or a dramatic change in power. I believe very firmly that societal and cultural change is rooted very firmly in individuals. Whether we like it or not, our world is made up of billions of individual people. The powers that push our government to make decisions are the result lock-step sheep momentum synchronizing with the power-hungry nature of world leaders in general. (Does power corrupt, or do corrupt people seek power?)

So when we talk about an issue like this, and discuss how we can improve the welfare system, or how it 'should' be, I find myself feeling that we are futilely waving our arms. I feel deeply, indeed I fear, that we here in these forums are preaching to our own intellectual choir. We create our own culture of privlege, informedness, and debate. But our debate does not heal the wounds that our government is causing.

I realize that I am beginning to rant, so I shall try to return to focus. Our discussion here is wonderful. It is the intellectual and cultural fodder that can inspire individuals and groups to great heights, but it does not on it's own cause change. I'm a strong proponent of personal activism. To me, this means living your life as though the world was the way you want it to be. It sounds hokey, it sounds naive, and perhaps it is. But it is the most powerful force for change that I'm aware of.

Because of this, I encourage each of you who shares your voice here, to share your voice in your actions every day as well. This does not mean you have to go out and rally, or petition, or try to change the law. It means only one thing. You change yourself. You acknowledge the ideal of the world you seek, and try to arrange every aspect of your life to make that world as real as possible. Your individual changes, small and insignificant as they seem, change the world for your experience, and every time someone else sees the world you live in, they have the opportunity to agree with you, and accept the new world you are creating, as part of their own.

This is cultural science, these small behaviors are the causes of trends, fads, and huge cultural changes. Making them with intent, purpose, and direction is what will let us guide our society to better leaders, better systems, and a better chance of 'right' action.

This is amazing. For about 3 seconds I actually found myself tempted to defend Mitt Romney. Then I stopped, slapped myself soundly, and remembered that he is a power-hungry career politician. I stop and remember that he's against gay rights, civil rights, essentially against everything that I define as 'Right.'

No, the Enemy of my Enemy is not my friend, particularly not in this case. Political and Religious fundamentalists are all of the same ilk. They take their personal issues, package them as sweet, devourable nuggest of morality, and spoon feed them to the masses in an attempt to addict others to their particular brand of shame and hate.