You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You can not help the poor by destroying the rich. You can not keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You can not build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves. - Abraham Lincoln

Hmmm. As much as we heard POTUS Lincoln's and POTUS Obama's names linked around November of last year, you would think maybe SOMEONE would actually think of recycling some of this stuff today. This one applies to almost any government entitlement program you could name.