Benjamin Franklin is quotable on so many matters, large and small, that delving into his writings is a treasure trove. While looking up something else this morning, I ran across this gem, from a 1766 essay:
I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means.
I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy
in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I
traveled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more
public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for
themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less
was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer.
