They have no shame about sucking off the government's teat as a lifestyle choice.
The Hasidic town you mention, Kiryas Joel, has the distinction of being the poorest place in America. According to the New York Times, 50% of the residents receive food stamps, and one-third are on Medicaid and get federal vouchers to help pay their housing costs.
"Most residents, raised as Yiddish speakers, do not speak much English. And most men devote themselves to Torah and Talmud studies rather than academic training — only 39 percent of the residents are high school graduates, and less than 5 percent have a bachelor’s degree. Several hundred adults study full time at religious institutions."
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/nyregion/kiryas-joel-a-village-with-the-numbers-not-the-image-of-the-poorest-place.html
The Hasidic communities are parasites. It's not sustainable. If they paid their own way and kept to themselves like the Amish no one would have a problem. Instead, they take over towns and behave very badly. Corruption is rampant.
You mention that some Hasids are successful. Even the successful ones try to get on the government teat. Two years ago, 26 people were convicted of lying to the government about their income in order to fraudulently receive welfare. Two of the couples had income over 1 million dollars. Source: https://www.nj.com/ocean/2017/07/meet_the_26_charged_in_lakewood_fraud_probe_who_th.html
Americans need to learn about how these Hasidic communities are taking advantage of our generosity and put pressure on the federal, state and local governments to stamp out the abuse.
We need systemic change to stop this abuse of our welfare programs.
And,the leaders of these communities need to stop encouraging their young men to be dead-beat dads.
Suddenly the NY Times is a reliable source? Yes, there are people who take advantage of the welfare system. But this is not everyone or even most people, or even predominantly Hasidim. Poorest place in America? Poorer than in Mississippi or Arkansas, Puerto Rico or the rust belt? On the contrary, there is a support network between Williamsburg and Boro Park and Upstate. The people are all related, and help set up the younger generation to start out in life. Interest free loan societies and vocational schools are available.
“Most residents, raised as Yiddish speakers, do not speak much English.”
I have yet to meet a Chassidic man over 30 who hasn’t picked up English or is still sitting and studying in Kolel. It’s really not much of a leap from Yiddish to English, especially since those young men sitting in kolel and studying also speak as a matter of course Hebrew and Aramaic, the languages used in their ancient texts, and quite a few speak Hungarian and/or Polish or Russian as well. I don’t know those European languages, but while commuting to and from work by subway I studied Arabic and Ancient Greek, as well as finishing Shakespeare, Ezra Pound’s Cantos, Wordsworth’s Prelude and numerous books of litcrit. No, I don’t have a bachelor’s degree. Nowadays, a bachelor’s degree tends to leave people less employable than they were before. But I have seen Chassidic men working lumber over a circular saw near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and when I was much younger worked alongside them at an offset printing house.
I agree that corruption and welfare fraud should be stomped out. Who could disagree with that.
As for the leaders of the communities, I suggest you go to them and speak your mind as honestly as you have spoken to me, and ask for their cooperation in a joint venture to make their congregations’ presence less egregious to you. And also give me their phone numbers, and I’ll do what I can from my end.