2006-7 U.S. Household Income

[Linus Van Pelt]

First, it is already the case and has been since the 1996 welfare reform bill that you can't stay indefinitely on welfare without looking for work.

Second, according to the census page linked to from your wikipedia article, 37.1% of those in this quintile are aged 65 or over, while 58.7% of such households have no earner. If we assume that seniors are not working and should not be required to, and that they live in their own households (which are of course simplifications which have exceptions), then this means that in fact a majority of households with someone 15-64 in this quintile do have an earner. This even includes those households where people are disabled, single mothers at home with newborns, etc.

Third, it should be obvious that not everyone who has no job is unwilling to work or is not looking for one.

Fourth, do you not believe that we enjoined thus?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Linus Van Pelt]

OK, fair enough.

Look, even though I'm not a Christian I meant those quotations in good faith; I wasn't trying to "call you out" in any way or accuse you of not personally giving, nor do I think that the scripture requires some social democracy. I just found it genuinely difficult to reconcile the numerous Biblical calls for charity with your support of letting some people starve. But if that's what it says in Thessalonians, so much the worse for my hermeneutics (not that I let this affect my own morality).