Welfare State: “a system whereby the government undertakes to protect the health and well-being of its citizens, especially those in financial or social need, by means of grants, pensions, and other benefits. The foundations for the modern welfare state in the US were laid by the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Of course, any government undertaking is financed by seizing resources from the citizens under its control; and any such efforts at protection undermine private and voluntary methods of insuring, while also creating adverse incentives for individuals to protect themselves. The welfare state is a form of … Continue reading Distress as a Tool to Extend Socialism and the Welfare State