Bill, while I agree Big Money punches above its weight it is not a walk-away. Big Money's macroeconomic model is not Keynesian. So they are terribly worried about the national debt, and consequently, the annual deficits. And they have been trying to get Social Security Benefits and Medicare (entitlements) rolled back for years to help balance the budget. But no luck.
I own a small business. I pay income tax on the earnings from that business. When the government allows me to depreciate a truck in one year instead of five they lower my taxes this year but raise them for next year, the third, the fourth, and the fifth years. They make those kind of tax incentives during down economic years in the hope that businesses will purchase equipment sooner rather than later and that it will stimulate the economy, a very Keynesian concept.
I pay income tax. I don't draw any benefits (yet). I do get to live in a great country. I am safe in my house. I am safe in my office. The Feds send in brave young men to combat our enemies on the enemies' soil. If I go broke today I will still have social security and medicare in a few years. But I still pay in much more in Federal Taxes than the benefits I receive. If the government passes a law that lowers my income tax by 1/20th of what it would have been without that law I don't think that makes me a welfare recipient. The 19/20th that I am still sending makes me a contributor.
If I do go broke today and I apply for and receive food stamps then I would think I was on welfare. If I move to Massachusetts and receive free medical care I would think that I was on welfare. But if a tax law lowers my taxes to 19/20ths of what they would have been otherwise I don't think that reduction in my contribution to the general well being of the nation is welfare as I would still be contributing much much more than I am receiving.
I think the teachers earned their pay, earned their health insurance, and earned their pensions. I don't begrudge them one penny of their life's earnings. I don't think their pensions constitute welfare.
I do begrudge foodstamp cheats, SS disablity cheats, unemployment insurance cheats, and Medicaid cheats. But my religious beliefs require me to try to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the prisoners, and give water to the thirsty. And so I am glad that it is not just the faithful that are chipping in on those giant chores.
I am angry that AIG, Maurice Greenberg, JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, Countrywide Mortgages, Angelo Mozillo, and the rest of the financial "wizards" that brought us the Lesser Depression are doing so well. No doubt at least some of them deserve the cell next to Burnie Madoff's.
