It’s not a “safety net”, it’s a cultural phenomenon. An unholy alliance of special interests – starting with the big one, Big Government, and then getting into corporations who naturally rise to meet the business opportunity – works to keep it that way:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ-tvNbGy1M[/youtube]

Via Mike Krieger’s blog.

Bonus (via Ace): Mark Steyn on the American Banana Republic.