What's wrong with communism?

[socrates]

You also focus entirely on social welfare programs, ignoring the flipside - corporate welfare. Special contracts, tax breaks, lucrative deals, etc. ad infinitum are really no different than the social programs - except that instead of trying to redistribute the wealth more equally, which is the intent of social welfare, these programs attempt to keep the wealth in one place. Which is just as much of a de-motivator (if not more)

I agree of course. My post was not exhaustive and I barely scratched the surface.
Corporate welfare is just as dehabilitating as personal welfare imho. Tax subsidies to farmers, lease/rent incentives to corporations from goverment etc all merge to distort the market, which can really only operate and find equilibrium if it is left to operate without intervention and interference.

As far as the hardest working being the often the moist exploited then I suppose that would be down to the choice of the individual and how one defines 'hardest working'.
I have and do know many grafters who work every muscle in their body bar the one between their ears. The beauty of real freedom is real freedom.The freedom of choice.