WHATTAYA DO WITH THE EXTRA CANDY?

History -- as it is so often prone to do -- repeated itself in France this week. The New York Times headlines the pledge of "billions for the Arab Spring by wealthiest nations." Not unlike the US did with its Marshall Plan after WWII. The motive in 1947 was to thwart the rise of Communism in Europe; the motive in 2011 is to thwart the rise of radical Islam in the Middle East.

But heck I learned this lesson growing up where our local candy store was owned by the father of one of the kids we played with. To help keep Jimmy popular with his bullying friends, pops occasionally passed out some of his extra penny-candy free. Jimmy came home with a lot fewer punched-out eyes.

You see how it works...? From candy store owners to rich nations, sometimes it's smart to give something away to the people who might threaten you. Not idealistic philanthropy. Just good, bare-knuckles politics.

For those who carry an ideological grudge against government handing out free-lunches (AKA, welfare programs), this is a lesson not to be ignored. Government welfare is not a giveaway as much as a takeaway. With it, society takes away some peace of mind that the hungry faces pressed against the world's candy store windows won't be driven someday to break through the glass!

Oh, and in case you're interested, it also has the moral advantage of being the right-thing-to-do. The Social Darwinian code I've-got-mine-because-I-earned-it works best in jungles, not in complex societies of teeming millions whose dads don't have free candy to pass out.

Something else for the comfortable Social Darwinians to think about. "Welfare" is serving them too. Consider the number of government programs which funnel money into corporate tax breaks...oil, gas, and corn subsidies...nationwide infrastructure, highways and flood controls....college grants and student loans ...not to mention the 24/7 regulations that protect our water, food, and air.

So no, the wealthy should not resent the wealthy nations sharing the wealth these days. After all, it's their -- and your -- investment in sleeping better in the nights to come. Besides, many of those recipients will probably become some of the artists, athletes, scholars and generals who you'll be applauding some day.

See why it's a takeaway more than a giveaway....?