[PEN-L:1861] Re: eter Dorman on

[D Shniad <shniad@xxxxxx>]

For my money, Peter's is an excellent, succinct characterization of this
issue.

Sid Shniad

>
> I don't want to get into an involved discussion (right now at least) on budget
> balancing, globalization, etc., but I do want to defend my "load of bull"
> remark.  The point is a narrow one.  We are told that welfare state benefits
> we used to afford 20 or 30 years ago can no longer be afforded today.  These
> benefits, taken as a whole, do not consume a greater share of GDP in any
> industrialized country (I hypothesize) than they did in the distant past,
> hence we *can* afford them.  Whether they are properly structured, consistent
> with trade or integration agreements, politically feasible, etc. is another
> matter.  I just want to stop hearing about what we can and can't afford, when
> there isn't a shred of evidence to justify it.
>
> Peter Dorman
>