Of course they’d be worse off. Those are starvation wages.
This fellow didn't live on the farm but in a big city. His monthly cash flow was just enough money to scrape by on.
My friend, who was an unofficial business associate of this guy, said the guy was intelligent and could have easily increased his income with just a little bit of consistent work. But the guy in question just couldn't get moving. He would talk a great game and make big promises, but then, after all the big talk, he would be late to meetings, stop returning phone calls, didn't keep his word (even with clients)...was just slack.
Even when he had the opportunity to improve his standard of living by doing just a little bit of work, he refused.
Eventually, he fell into a deep state of depression (which of course he blamed for his laziness).
My friend had an intervention with this guy and asked what was wrong. The guy wasn't on drugs and he didn't drink much...but he just complained that he couldn't get motivated.
I'm not saying this is standard behavior for everyone. But I have seen many people with stipends (from trust fund babies to people living on disability) and they are rarely what one might call "highly motivated."
It didn’t used to be.