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A soldier with a thirty year retirement in the current retirement system doesn’t make as much as a welfare recipient does in many states.

The Cato Institute released an updated 2013 study (original study in 1955) showing that welfare benefits pay more than a minimum wage job in 33 states and the District of Columbia. Even worse, welfare pays more than $15 per hour in 13 states. According to the study, welfare benefits have increased faster than minimum wage. It’s now more profitable to sit at home than it is to earn an honest day’s pay.

Here is the list of the states where the pre-tax equivalent “salary” that welfare recipients receive is higher than having a job:

1. Hawaii: $60,590

2. District of Columbia: $50,820

3. Massachusetts: $50,540

4. Connecticut: $44,370

5. New York: $43,700

6. New Jersey: $43,450

7. Rhode Island: $43,330

8. Vermont: $42,350

9. New Hampshire: $39,750

10. Maryland: $38,160

11. California: $37,160

12. Oregon: $34,300

13. Wyoming: $32,620

14. Nevada: $29,820

15. Minnesota: $29,350

16. Delaware: $29,220

17. Washington: $28,840

18. North Dakota: $28,830

19. Pennsylvania: $28,670

20. New Mexico: $27,900

21. Montana: $26,930

22. South Dakota: $26,610

23. Kansas: $26,490

24. Michigan: $26,430

25. Alaska: $26,400

26. Ohio: $26,200

27. North Carolina: $25,760

28. West Virginia: $24,900

29. Alabama: $23,310

30. Indiana: $22,900

31. Missouri: $22,800

32. Oklahoma: $22,480

33. Louisiana: $22,250

34. South Carolina: $21,910

Average Salary of Soldier DEPLOYED IN AFGHANISTAN ... $38,000