Don't try to push this lie onto me, they don't encourage people to stay on them, do you know how much the average amount in food stamp benefits is? Who receives them? The number of employed people on welfare? What constitutes welfare? Quoting rush? LOL.
That's just one instance of a personal experience I'm posting here. There are dozens from other sources that concur.
Welfare now pays better than the average working job if you consider taxes and all benefits. Of course this is if you are using every possible welfare program offered.
Nobody wants to give up free money. Free money is an incentive to continue getting that free money. If you are getting $250.00 per month in various benefits, and you have an opportunity to get $300.00 more in wages, are you going to take that opportunity of a wage increase if it only means fifty bucks to you after taxes? Of course not. Nobody would. You'd be better off working less hours and making less money than to make 50 bucks more a month.
You can't abuse welfare in the way you're describing, it's virtually impossible.
It's not abusing the system at all. It's legit. That's the problem.
These people can get pretty creative when it comes to scamming taxpayers out of money. For instance, I had a coworker who's wife worked at a convenience store. The girls were talking about trying to make ends meet and raising a family and whatnot. One of the women spoke out and said "Just do what I did, apply for these welfare programs and you'll be set."
Upon further questioning, she explained that all she had to do is tell welfare that her husband left her and she was stuck alone. Not only did they give her money and benefits, but she was allowed to work quite a bit of hours on top of it.
Welfare is not about to go out, find her husband, and question him about it. Even if they caught him at the house, that's not proof he actually lives there with her.
I had a new neighbor move in a couple of doors down a few years ago. I was shocked to see it was a guy I knew from work. We were talking and he explained he moved into a HUD house. He and his girlfriend moved there, but the government has no idea he lives with her. They even had a child together, and she didn't reveal who the father was, they just upped her benefits.
I know where this guy works, and he doesn't make bad money. They will never get married because of the benefits she gets. About a year or so later, he moved out. When I seen him at work, I asked about it. He claimed they didn't like living on such a busy street because they had all those kids. So they complained to HUD about it and they found them another home, larger, on a much quieter street in our suburb. So they moved.