There’s a difference between taxing people to support government functions that broadly serve the populace (streets, armies, etc) and taxing people to give their money directly to other people. But even if you accept the notion that there should be a safety net (as libertarians like Milton Friedman believed), there’s a difference between a net that catches within it the the young, the poor, and the disabled, and a net that catches within it the approximately 48% of the population who would be exempt from paying income taxes under Obama. Obama’s tax “credits” are given to people regardless of whether they pay income taxes or not … they are simply welfare handouts, beyond any scope previously known.  I don’t think voters actually like this.  And if McCain weren’t only one step behind Obama in spreading the wealth, voters might actually be able to do something about it.