Community

"Visitors are quite free to smoke in my smoke-free home if they so desire."

Obviously, I agree that you have the same right to control your property as I have to control mine - absolutely. But what you permit in your home is irrelevant in discussion of what should be permitted in public. You don't own public spaces, so you don't have the right to ignore health risks and decide public law on your own whim. Neither do I, but I offer reason to support my assertions, whereas you offer only irrelevant anecdotes:

"At certain stages in my life I have been a smoker, and at other stages (including the present) a non-smoker.

"If you stepped out of your ivory tower for a few moments and actually made the acquaintance of some people who are on welfare, you might make the awesome discovery that it is some of the most intelligent and sensitive people on the planet who find it hard to make their way in a fiercely competitive materialistic society."

Their lives are dependent on materials as is mine. They can act according to that fact as I do, or they can lack the material their survival requires. If they want my property, they can pay the price I name.

I'm sure there are a wide variety of types of people on welfare. That is irrelevant. What is relevant is only that the government has no right to re-distribute wealth from some citizens to others, on any basis. Assuming that you personally are willing to help whatever Welfare recipient lives near you, you will continue to be free to do so when Welfare ceases. And I will be free to use my money as I choose, to help others according to my standards, not according to a collection of compromises reached by generations of elected "representatives".

"Even Maxwell will concede that some people can't make it on their own."

Even I will concede that some people can't make it on their own. My answer to you is "tough luck". No other species burdens the able members with providing for the incompetents and the derelicts. Although some food grows on trees, without continuous effort even that food will be consumed by other species. If food, clothing and shelter produced themselves spontaneously, it would be just to share them equally, but in reality as it exists, the moral system accords ownership of commodities to the producers. Everybody lives by somebody's effort. Moral adults live by their own effort, and children by the effort of the individuals who have chosen the role of guardian as their preferred lifestyle.

"But to relate education to welfare -- well the mind simply boggles."

Then your mind needs more education. Scroll about halfway down the following page, to the section entitled "Literacy and Basic Skill Levels of Welfare Recipients" to see that education is related to receipt of Welfare funds: http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/welfare.html

for somebody to request that I remove my topic!