Maggie's Farm

Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty failed.

There are simple reasons why (relative) poverty persists in America, but the first is most significant: If poverty is defined as roughly the lowest 15% of income then, obviously, it will persist whether the poor have cars, air conditioners, farms, houses, lots of food, iPhones, TVs, a government dwelling, government medical care, government schools, government cheese, etc.

Is there abuse? Of course there is.  Welfare Loophole: Sisters Make $540,000 Babysitting Their Kids. Can't help it because the world is full of people who will work any system to their own advantage. It's their loss of dignity and self-respect. Once given up, those things are difficult to ever recover but some people don't care. Dependency can be a trap whether from government or from a trust fund.

The second major part seems to be life choices. If more money is what you want, then you have to make life plans and choices which might make that goal possible and, if you have any sense of honor at all, you will not take it from your neighbors except in desperation. This via Powerline: