We often hear the word “Scrooge” used to refer to people who oppose government programs for the poor. Yet a close reading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol shows that this usage is in appropriate. In fact, early in the story, when Ebenezer Scrooge was such an unhappy man, he advocated government programs for the poor. After waking from his nightmare and realizing that he could change, he became a generous man who started to give his own money to poor people. He never became an advocate of government programs.

For more, see my “The Pursuit of Happiness ~ The Lesson of Ebenezer Scrooge.”