Fallacies of the welfare state, part gazillion

Back about 70 years ago someone wrote,

When demanding assistance from the state, people forget that that is actually a demand upon their fellow citizens and is merely passed through the government….Government does not, in fact, supply people with anything, but simply removes wealth from one group of citizens and gives it to another.

If the Democrats went door to door with guns, demanding that each household fork over an extra three-thousand bucks a year in order to give poor people the things compassionate leftist believe should be given to them, the refusal rate would likely be pretty significant.  But because the cost is hidden in deficit spending--which ultimately shows up as more national debt--few consider the cost to be "real."

You could tell people there's no such thing as a free lunch--that *someone* has to pay for every benefit given away by the government.  And they'd probably nod in agreement.  But start talking T-bills and yields and weekly Treasury auctions and they quickly lose any semblance of interest.  It becomes...unreal.

But every one of 'em can tell you which local shops will give you cash for food stamps, and whether they pay the going rate.

Charming.