Stopping illegal immigration would mean that wages would have to rise to a level where Americans would want the jobs currently taken by illegal aliens.
Thomas SowellRead
The welfare state is not really about the welfare of the masses. It is about the egos of the elites.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that welfare systems serve the self-interests of the powerful rather than genuinely benefiting the public.
In this quote, Thomas Sowell critiques the welfare state by arguing that it is less about aiding the general populace and more about satisfying the desires and egos of those in positions of power. He implies that the intentions of the elites who design and maintain these systems often prioritize their own status and control rather than the actual well-being of the people they claim to serve.
Themes
WelfareElitePowerEgoCritique
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about social policies, this quote could be used to emphasize concerns about the motivations behind welfare programs.
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One of the reasons for conspiracy theories is an assumption that people in high places always know what they are doing. When they do something that makes no sense, devious reasons are imagined by conspiracy theorists, when in fact it may be due to plain old ignorance and incompetence.
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You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing.
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The real problem, both in discussions of mass shootings and in discussions of gun control, is that too many people are too committed to a vision to allow mere facts to interfere with their beliefs, and the sense of superiority that those beliefs give them.
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Why is history important? Without history, many people have no idea how many of today's half-baked ideas have been tried, again and again - and have repeatedly led to disaster. Most of these ideas are not new. They are just being recycled with re-treaded rhetoric.
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Real hunger is when one man regards another man as something to eat.
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