DoobieBrotherhood t1_it95syy wrote on October 21, 2022 at 9:06 PM

Reply to comment by SportySaturn in Many countries have a "hidden welfare state" for incumbent homeowners, as governments subsidize homeowners through the tax system. The homeownership welfare state is strongest in the US and other Anglophone countries, but weakest in the Scandinavian countries. by smurfyjenkins

I have no interest in that sub at all.

I’m just pointing out that it is common to call any financial support from the government for anything “welfare”.

anothercynic2112 t1_itburv9 wrote on October 22, 2022 at 1:26 PM

But it's incredibly disingenuous to deny that welfare is commonly used to imply handouts. Usually by the right but also whenever the left wants to villify a group they disapprove of.

DoobieBrotherhood t1_itbwnad wrote on October 22, 2022 at 1:42 PM

Imagine if we all used words the way the right does, to confuse and confound rather than convey meaning.

SportySaturn t1_it97o20 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 9:19 PM

Providing financial support is different from a reduction in tax obligation. The first is welfare, the second is not. Deciding not to take a chicken leg off your dinner plate is different from cooking you chicken for dinner.

DoobieBrotherhood t1_it9859g wrote on October 21, 2022 at 9:22 PM

That’s your opinion, but the bottom line is that subsidies of all kinds are called welfare.

SportySaturn t1_itaalvd wrote on October 22, 2022 at 2:25 AM

It's not an opinion that those are qualitatively different sorts of interactions a government is having with persons / entities.

It is my opinion that acknowledging that difference is useful and improves clarity of thinking.