re: Why would anyone want to stay on welfare?

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they actually PREFER not working to working and living like 2% better

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Saw some studies where single mother with kids had benefits approaching the 6 figure range, they gonna leave and become a CPA or engineer.

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Easy 

Why work for 8 bucks an hour when i can get paid 6 bucks an hour to sit on my arse and get free food stamps?

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This raises another uncomfortable question: why do our politicians (especially our Republicans in Congress) not try to curtail it.

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a fundamental variable in our society. What is it?

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Responsibility

We are living in a society/culture that tells certain groups that nothing is really their fault. All the while subliminally telling many of them that this is most likely all they can hope for.

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why do our politicians not try to curtail it.

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Once government gives, it cannot take away.

A better plan would require training or education to recieve benefits

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are living in a society/culture that tells certain groups that nothing is really their fault. All the while subliminally telling many of them that this is most likely all they can hope fo

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I can agree with that, but what about other variables. The decline of manufacturing? The lopsided growth of the O&G industry? Decimation of "mom and pop stores" to big box retailers?

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the increase in wages would have stopped her government subsidized child-care.

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This is the root of it right here. It is flat-out stupid that some programs cut out support entirely at a particular dollar amount. Who in their right mind would make that extra dollar if it reduces their net substantially? Hell, people in the top tax bracket claim to be less likely to work more because they're taxed more.. they're still making more money than if they didn't work, it's just they're not making as much as expected. Imagine if working more/harder actually resulted in earning negative pay like it does for those on government assistance.

It's absurd. Unless, of course, it's working exactly as intended.

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I agree. But the thing that baffles me, how in the hell do they explain this to their kids? I can see people not giving a damn and not being embarrassed because their whole lives that is how they got all their food and chances are, that is how everyone they know also got their food, so they are just numb to it. Do the children ever ask their parents why they live in crap houses, have crap cars, and get free money, while all these other people who go to work, have nice cars and nice houses. At one point, curiosity has to set in, right? And when it does, I would like to know what the parent/parents say to them when they do ask.

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It's a way of life, passed down from generation to generation. I have an aunt that worked for social services for over 40 years. She said she was signed people up on welfare, then their kids, and then their grand kids.

BTW, she lives in a state where there are not many blacks, so this is not an issue confined to race.

If the condition was set that to receive taxpayer money, child care, food stamps, then that person must submit weekly drug testing and contribute a certain amount of hours working community service.

It’s because the entitlement restrictions give no incentive to work or do better.

It’s complicated but here is the gist of it. Start with broken homes.

Kids born out of wedlock which is encouraged by our entitlement programs that give extra benefits to single moms. So the child has a poor upbringing with little value on education.

Now to education: due a community with no value on education and little involvement in schools, you end up with shite schools with terrible teachers and administrators who embezzle funds. The few students who do care have 0 options because they must attend the school in their district and cannot afford private school. So they get a crap education and even with good grades in HS usually fail out of college due to not being prepared.

So now all of these kids reach adulthood with little to no education. Parents kick them out at 18 as they no longer bring them any extra benefits. These kids have little more than minimum wage value in the workforce. They cannot afford to support themselves on MW so they get Govt housing, food stamps, Obamacare, etc. probably valued at 20-35k a year total. Plus earning 20k at a MW job.

Say they do good at work. Get offered a raise to 15 an hour. Now they make too much to keep their benefits and the total income value per year actually goes down. So they choose to continue making MW as they’d need a salary of around 50k to do better than their current situation.

So the cycle repeats itself.

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Education isn't a sure way to improve your earning potential, plus it takes money to go to school and likely reduced earnings while you are in school.

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No one on welfare pays for education or training. It's easier to do this as a poor person than middle class. There is absolutely no reason a poor person able to work cannot improve themselves

The bottom line is our poor are much different than the poor of yesterday. Government programs have them dependent and feeling powerless. They still control their own destiny, but don't know it.

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There is absolutely no reason a poor person able to work cannot improve themselves

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Sure there is. A disability is a great example, or family situation (say supporting multiple family members).

But I do agree that an enterprising poor person could pull themselves out of poverty! The thing is there are a lot of fricking idiots out there.