Thanks Old Blue. I've never made it a secret that I lean left on most fiscal questions, but I stopped talking politics on this board about a decade ago. Not because my views are in the minority, but because few posters seem willing / able to respectfully disagree on principle.

I've said this before but .... I think we can all agree govt is a necessary evil. But to what degree it is (or should be) each of those things is where I observe the source of most debates. Many men and women I love and respect tend to distrust govt as a matter of course. I do not share that inherent distrust, or at least not to the extent many others do. But reasonable people can disagree.

I would submit that govt is a legitimate mechanism to manage some range of societal issues, and I suspect you'd agree. But we can disagree about the breadth and scope of that range ... It takes all kinds.