Maybe you don't bother to read, but I was quite explicit that we should help those who cannot (as opposed to will not) take care for themselves. ("Those UNABLE (like children, handicapped, mothers of small children) the Scripture commands US to assit [sic] them out of charity (love).) However, I do not believe welfare programs through the government are "charity" since it is forced. I believe individuals bear the respionsibility to assist those in need withing their own sphere of influence (neightbors). I don't know if the majority of welfare recipients are truly needy or just leaches. I haven't met them all -- or even a large group of them. Have you? Of those I have met, about 1/3 were what I understood to be needy. The others were unwilling to work unless the employment fit the criteria (usually unrealistic) that they determined. This was ONLY my experience, and therefore cannot be extrapolated to fit the whole. Do you have data proving that the majority of welfare recipients are truly needy?