from Zero Hedge
A number of years ago, we first introduced the topic of a ‘welfare cliff’ at which more work was punished – i.e. the ‘generosity’ of the package of welfare benefits creates a perverse incentive not to work any harder…
[…] As we wrote at the time, one of the tragedies of America today is that so many adults of sound mind and body do not support themselves and their families. It’s a tragedy not because they suffer material want; indeed, relatively few suffer so, because government assistance satisfies many of their material needs.
It’s tragic because one of the keys to human happiness is earned self-respect, which requires, as Charles Murray has written, making one’s own way in the world. The vast majority of poor people don’t want welfare; they don’t want handouts; they want a good job with which they can support themselves and their families comfortably.