By that logic, military defense is welfare. Everything is welfare if it benefits those who are not paying into the system. You need a better definition of the term.
I’m not necessarily agreeing with 668’s description, but military defense is different from the other examples in that everyone benefits from it.
There are a few **fundamental** services that a government must render:
** defend the borders from invasion. This includes enemy invasion and invasion by so many refugees that the culture is overwhelmed and destroyed.
** provide honest courts to enforce contracts
** put criminals in prison by means of honest police and courts.
Schools are not one of these fundamentals.
By the way, if health care is taken over by the government, yes, we will get reasonably good care for a generation or two. Just as it was in education, the high values of the health workers brought over from the private system will persist for a while. But... In a few short decades people will say the following about government health:
** If only we could go back to government medicine of the 2020’s.
** If only we could get back to health basics.
** If only conservatives ran the health system.
** Conservatives should run for the health board!
** Parents should take more responsibility.
** It's the patient’s fault!
** Gee! If we could only get doctors and nurses who had better SAT and ACT scores. Their scores are even worse than government teachers!
** We need to get the Marxists out of the medical and nursing schools.
Soon, no one will remember the time when the U.S. had the best cancer, trauma, and extreme low birth weight survivals in the history of mankind! They will have forgotten that at one time PRIVATE health care provided these excellent outcomes. They will no longer be able to even imagine a world without government health care.