would not be much worse? Better to spend money on that problem rather than unjustified overseas wars-for-profit and a military larger than the next however many combined or subsidizing Big Oil. And implicit in your "teach a man to fish" comment is the tried and true conservative meme that anyone receiving government assistance just isn't trying or working hard enough either to educate themselves or find a job. I'm all for teaching folks to fish when they need it, too, but it's foolish to think that will eliminate true poverty.