But many are also strongly attached to the generous welfare provisions which the state provides.

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That is not to say that Asia boomed in the complete absence of welfare provisions.

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Are nearly half of voters in a country known for its relative lack of welfare provisions really welfare dependents?

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New taxes, rising unemployment and cuts to pay, pensions and social welfare provisions have brought many ordinary Greeks to their knees.

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The Iron Lady, Mrs Thatcher, was widely seen to have smashed this cosy consensus, but in fact left the National Health Service, the unemployment benefit, and many other welfare provisions, if not unscathed, still standing.

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Of course, that lack of specific provisions has been construed by liberal constructionists to mean that anything that remotely sounds like promoting the general welfare is justified.

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