Lyle,

If I was still in the classroom, I would be please to call you colleague! 
Very well argued.

One point - there were several generations between the end of slavery and 
the beginning of welfare, so I'm not totally sure that the dependence of one 
led into the dependence of the other. I do think that one of the problems 
with the welfare system was the insistance to help wife and children if and 
only if, the father was absent. An unemployed or underemployed man, which 
was many black before Civil Rights opened up decent jobs to them, could do 
his family a favor by moving on and leaving them to welfare, it would be the 
sensible thing to do. Also, a young man who impregnated a girl could do 
better by leaving than by staying and not being able to support her with a 
reasonably decent job.

And, you are right about the Mexican immigrants being hard working. By 
comparison, neither the Puerto Ricans nor the Cubans were known to love work 
as much as the Mexicans do. It is so sad to see how many people object to 
their immigration when they are such a good influence in the job market.

Anne

Anne Pemberton
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http://www.erols.com/apembert
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org