Yep, it would be such a hard sell it will never happen. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea. When someone is only making $10/hr like the guy you mentioned, I have to ask “Why?” I went to school with a number of guys who I think are probably making that per year, but I don’t feel too badly about it because they just goofed off in school. They probably had a lot more fun than I did in high school, but they’re paying for it now. I find it hard to feel sorry for them. On the other hand, there are those who are disabled in some way and I do think they should be helped, but I’d rather see that help be like it used to be: private charities and the church. If I’m going to “help” the poor, I’d like to have some say in who gets my charitable money, not some bureaucrat who doles out my money so he can get reelected.
Well, you have a stronger view of personal responsibility than 90% of the US (I am probably in that 10% with you). You noted in your first post, however, that the ability to cut & run, to change with the times is important. But, here you hold a view that may have been popular in 1949 and has now fallen out of favor. What good is an idea that can no longer find its audience?