I think that it has been over-simplified in his post. I believe that in order to help the poor in a practical way, some kind of program needs to be developed. Dropping money in someone's hat is not helping. There need to be counselors and teachers to help these people get back on their feet.

I believe in the "teach a man to fish..." concept. If people just give money out randomly to the poor folk, chances are they will not improve - they will just survive without having some sort of education. And how practical is it to expect someone to take time out of thier one life to teach somebody one on one how to get a job, recover from depression and possibly learn some ethics? That is what the government programs are for.

Also, the government is supposed to be representative of the people.

I know how wasteful the government is - I work as a contractor for it - it is all made up of citizens - perhaps it is just a reflection of the populace.

I think that the government should :
1. make it easier to fire a government worker based on performance issues
2. hire more real (qualified) workers and less contractors that really eat up the budget.

my 2 cents