And I never said, "a government paycheck would be nice". But while we're on the subject, you seem to base all your anti-socialist views on the idea of "earning it".
Has it ever occurred to you that the vast majority of the world's wealth is held by a few individuals who never actually earned it? Inherited wealth for one, and the fact that mister CEO sitting up there with his pen ready to fire another hundred employees/close another factory/send jobs overseas in the interests of earning another few million isn't doing NEARLY as much "earning" as someone like my dad who's busted his ass his whole life working construction to feed his family. Are you seriously going to tell me that Mr. CEO has worked harder and went through more life struggles then my father? So don't give me that "earn it" bullshit unless I see Paris Hilton flipping burgers tomorrow.
You also seem to think that nobody will do anything above and beyond what is necessary without some sort of monetary gain… which is also bullshit. Just tell that crap to all the folks in the Preservation Forums, cranking out those DVD transfers for us with self taught techniques. (For someone who espouses the virtues of Christianity, you certainly seem to place a lot of your faith in little green slips of paper.) Someday I might sit down and post the basic math that proves that capitalism, at least in it’s current form, can’t work indefinitely, (anyone remember when candy bars cost a nickel?), but not today.
And if I'm coming off as a jerk, it's because I’m directing it toward you personally. There's little I can do to make you look bad, as you're already doing that yourself.
*** Apologies to most everyone else on this board.. I know I’m coming off as a bit heated, but I’ve heard too many of these Michael P. Keaton rants against people like Rik who are actually having to make real sacrifices to do the right things in life. ***