_Why punish those who are well off?
Maybe, they actually strived to make a living?_
I hate this argument. So, those making $15,000 don't strive to make a living? Most of those people work just as hard as those making more money than them.
Ever read the book Nickel and Dimed? It's about a woman that takes these kinds of jobs to see if she can make it out of poverty. She works 40+ hours a week at Merry maids, Wal-mart, watressing, etc. Guess what? She never makes it out. When she thinks that she might make it, something unexpected always comes up and kicks her in the teeth. It's an excellent book and shows you hard these people work.
If welfare is such a great free ride, why aren't more people quitting their jobs to "live high on the hog?" So many people talk like living on welfare is the greatest thing in the world for these people. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to live like that. Very few people choose to. It's such a moot point.
If you take away all of the opther types of welfare such as college loans programs and things like that. Approximately 1% of the Federal Budget goes to your "typical" welfare programs that everyone like to complain about.