The standard conservative rap on the social safety net is that it turns people into slackers by providing a comfy hammock and discouraging work and initiative.
Yesterday, President Obama offered a diametrically opposite analysis: Programs like Social Security and Medicare, he argued, actually enable people to reach higher:
these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.