[SamuraiScot]

70% of all the money the federal government spends will be in the form of direct payments to individuals, an all-time high.

So, if the Federal government stopped doing that, people would be making the payments to each other instead, on one set of terms or another. I guess that's what you would call an economy. Sounds somehow more efficient.

[spokeshave]

It’s capitalism....the middle man take his cut.