By Jacob G. Hornberger
March 9, 2020 - Central to the idea of a welfare state is the notion of the “safety net”. The idea is that a free society is much like walking the high wire. High wire walkers sometimes fall, hit the ground, and die, but not if they have a safety net. If they fall, they fall into the safety net and live another day.
The free society, it is said, operates much the same way. People fall on hard times, are unable to pay their bills, and die of starvation. A welfare-state safety net, it is argued, ensures that they survive and live another day.
However, the safety-net argument is fallacious, both from a moral standpoint and a practical standpoint.