To paraphrase John Kennedy ask not what our government can do for us but what can we do for ourselves. The more we can do for ourselves the less need we will have for government assistance programs so more of our tax dollars can go to defending us from foreign enemies and terrorists with weapons of mass destruction and recovering from or surviving  large scale disasters. This is the debate we should be having we should be electing political leaders who understand this principle and will pass and enforce legislation that creates more opportunities for we the people so we can be the primary providers of our own housing, food, medical care and retirement funds all which are made affordable through market forces not regulations or subsidies.