By Bill O'Reilly

On this Holy Thursday, it is fitting that President Obama continues his campaign to urge Americans to give to the poor. The problem is the president is not asking for voluntary charity. He wants to mandate it through higher taxes on the wealthy. Also, he doesn't much want to cut entitlement spending, which is why he's going coast to coast saying things like this about Republicans:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Their basic view is that no matter how successful I am, no matter how much I have taken from this country, that somehow I now have no obligation to people who are less fortunate than me.

The last point I will make is this: Nothing is easier than solving a problem on the backs of people who are poor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

"Talking Points" does not believe that cutting federal spending is breaking the backs of the poor. Quite the contrary. If the president continues racking up debt, all of our backs will be broken because the American economy will collapse.

But there is merit in Mr. Obama's theme that a just society should help the downtrodden. Self-reliance is what has made America great. But for many reasons some of us fall down, and a helping hand is necessary in any fair society. But what's happened in America is that many social justice programs simply do not work, and we have lost trillions of dollars trying to force-feed -- pardon the pun -- folks who are not doing well.

Americans are the most generous people in the world, and studies show conservative Americans give more to charity than liberals. So it is unfair of the president to label Republicans and conservatives as uncaring. That is simply not true, and the president should get off it, with all due respect.

What needs to be done now is massive budget cutting while at the same time instituting smart programs. One vivid example: education. The feds pour billions of dollars into classrooms every year and much of the money is wasted on touchy-feely programs that do little.

Here's what we need: Every public school kid in a uniform, strict code of behavior on school grounds, mandated test scores for every grade and special-help programs for kids who fall behind or have learning disabilities. Those ideas don't cost a ton of money. Discipline is free. Taking political correctness out of the system is free.

So there you go. I just saved the country a trillion dollars.

Smart policy, not lavish spending, is the key to America's future success.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

The actress Gwyneth Paltrow is a very liberal lady, but this week on "Glee" she said something that caught my attention:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GWYNETH PALTROW, ACTRESS: We live in a culture of insults. I mean, we're constantly bombarded with these images of people who are richer than us and happier than us. We tear them down to feel better about ourselves. And we don't just stop with the people who are on TV or in magazines. We do it everybody. And we think that because it's done anonymously, there are no ramifications. But there are ramifications, guys, because it makes you comfortable with insensitivity.

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I kind of like that, but some of you may disagree. So is Ms. Paltrow a pinhead or a patriot for delivering those lines? Please vote on BillOReilly.com.

Wednesday night we showed you this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Have you been giving him decaf lately or something? Because he sort of took a nap during the president's speech.

JILL BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S WIFE: He does that to me all the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Seventy-six percent of you think Mrs. Biden is a pinhead; 24 percent a patriot. But I'm in the patriot category. I thought her reply was snappy. "He does that to me all the time." I liked it.

— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.