Who would want to work in America? Look what the tax payers are paying...

My mother works at BK as a manager, clears a little over 30k a year, and she can't get assistance from anyone for everything, whether private or public. However, if she were only a minimum wage employee, she'd be able to get food stamps, housing assistance, medical assistance, and bigger EITC dollars. It's true what you say: People are better off making less money. I know that for a fact, because my cousin, Barbara, also works at BK -- my mother hired her. She has reduced rent, health assistance, the new and approved food stamp credit card, and she gets a huge chunk back on taxes, all she paid in (per income) and more. Effectively, she is making more than my mother. She is able to actually save most of the money she earns from a paycheck and use her debit and her assistance credit to live. The people who are in the worst situations financially are catered to so much that they're doing better than people who actually careers that 10 or 20 years ago would have made them middle class. (Cost of living is what I'm focusing on, if anyone wants to argue that.) Scrap it. Blow it up. Boom goes the dynamite.

Well as a outsider,I do not know whether my answer is right or not but as for me,I think working in America is better than many countries of the world,such as me,so many workers in my countries under a great deal of pressure,we all have a low pay job but have to face the high commodity prices,and the high tax as well.

I agree that this has become a real problem. The welfare programs need to be completely revamped and should include work incentives and possibly training so that people can re enter the workforce and become productive citizens. Our government, however seems to think it is better to keeppeople tied to the system, and add more even though as a nation we are already struggling and failing to pay our bills. Something has to be done, but it is unlikely that it will happen. Too many people - both government officials and recipients do not want changes made.....unless of course it means spending more on the program and increasing benefits. Until this changes the program likely will stay much the same.

It is my personal opinion that people will never be motivated to work if welfare is still maintained at this rate. I gather that there will be an unfortunate majority that loathes work and find ways to exploit the system. Especially, when he/she sees that his/her peers or neighbors doing and getting away with it. Revamping is a necessary but it is not going to be easy when the lawmakers in office are not on the same platform to agree with one another. Even your country's Chief-of-Staff, is already facing so much opposition with his own implementations, what's more at the levels below him. So for this system to go through changes is similar to climbing Mt Everest. Sometimes I wonder how governments do not consider implementing another form of taxation which could benefit the individual working class to motivate people to work. The model takes that the amount taxed are being kept aside for each involved working individual like a savings account which could be used for purchases for houses, investment products, insurances, and eventually retirement. On the versatile side, a certain percentage could be used for their child's future financial needs like education or finances for business start-ups. The advantage of this is that those who are willing to work will have their future taken care of. And, since more will be willing to enter into the workforce, the government will be able to reduce the annual income tax rate. There is a disadvantage of this model and it has to do with individual disposable income. With the current inflation, people will find it hard to afford certain goods one of it being luxury goods and travel even. But, I feel that people should start consider more about their personal future and the importance of savings which is already difficult and unsuccessful with the current system.

Welcome to the USSA. And not a word was said when Obama effectively quashed the Welfare Reform of Gingrich/Clinton years. We should dump the system we have and start fresh. Lots of good ideas posted here, but they would never get past Congress. We need politicians who have some backbone, and we seem to be able to only elect those who are spineless. I think we need to start the reformation by giving THEM a paycut.

Poor people do get a lot in some situations. However, it really helps if you have kids. As a single male with no kids, as a single person with no kids, the government expects I can get by one $600 a month or something ridiculous. The other thing you tend to forget that with little no actual income despite getting large amounts of government assistance these people will never be able to get home loans, the only car loan they'll get will be at 20% interest from a shady car place that sells cars at twice their value. They might get a lot of freebies. But they are shunned by the financial institutions that allow people to retire and have real benefits. If they didn't have government medical benefits half their paycheck would go to insurance.