Let's start with a basic distinction between liberals and conservatives: Liberals see people as liabilities, conservatives see them as assets.
With no welfare (or greatly reduced) businesses and individuals will have more disposable income as taxes can be lowered. Further this will make available a large pool of potential labor, which will add value to the economy as they get hired and work. It might require changing the min wage to accomodate low skilled workers. But that is an easy trade-off.
The economy does not benefit from millions of otherwise-able people sitting idle.
Excellent post.
Deadbeats living on the dole spend money, but no where near as much as could be spent if they were productive individuals supporting themselves.
Remember, they are living off of the taxes taken from the income of someone else... therefore decreasing the taxed person's purchasing power, and giving it to someone else. This is further decreased because the government, in administering the money, takes a cut to pay for itself. This money creates the wealth of a government worker, who does not increase the productivity of a nation but exists on it, just like the welfare recipient. So now, instead of increasing the economy by 2 people, you have cut it to a third, since two people are existing (for example) on the wealth of one person.
This is why unemployment for 99 weeks among all the other private welfare is a net loss. It minimizes the need for people to get out and earn and be productive citizens, thereby increasing the overall economic pie as well as makes 'busy work' in coordinating transfer payments, taking yet another person out of producing.
That is why.
Oh, and before anyone says "Government workers and welfare recipients are taxed too!" as if that's a defense for why they are 'producing', I'll explain why THIS is a false argument. That government worker is paid by the taxpayers. The fact they are also taxed is a spot of irony that the government is actually just taking back part of their pay in which to keep the 'churn' going. Their paid taxes, come from taxpayers who then put it back into the system so they can support themselves.
It's like recycling water. BUT, for every dollar "churning" back from government employee and welfare recipient, back INTO government by taxes... is a dollar effectively removed from the economy.
Therefore, welfare at all levels is a net loss when all is said and done.