I don’t know, either

Penn Jillette’s commentary at CNN is awesome.

It’s amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the government give poor people money is compassion. Helping poor and suffering people is compassion. Voting for our government to use guns to give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral self-righteous bullying laziness.

People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and sheltered, and if we’re compassionate we’ll help them, but you get no moral credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right. There is great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint.

So well said.  Compare this to the crap Warren Buffett got published, where he complains that he pays too little in taxes, but does nothing to increase his tax burden voluntarily (he could take a larger salary instead of capital gains, hell, he could contribute all of his earnings if he wanted).  Instead, he thinks we should use force to take more stuff from more people.

I know one thing:  which side I’m on.