Sentences to ponder

The chancellor intends that from 2013 household benefit payment will be capped at around the median earned income after tax and national insurance for working families – estimated at about £500 a week.

That's from the UK and I was surprised to see that benefits could run so high.  Keep your eyes on this story: the UK is the first Western country in recent memory to attempt a comprehensive overhaul of its welfare state.  The UK does a lot of things first (e.g., decline, revitalization) because its parliamentary system allows for relatively rapid and decisive legislative action.