Nothing wrong with dragging yourself up the ladder but what happens to those ,that for whatever reason, are unable to? Any government should have a system in place to catch those that fall through the cracks.I dont think many in the nanny state that europe has become understands the way the usa thinks, I have only been there once but had a few interesting conversations with people who hadn't had a good start in life but were dragging themselves up the ladder and didnt seem to think it was awful to have to look after yourself rather than let the state do it for you.