We see this all the time in our line of work. We have been in subsidized housing projects to work on radiant heat panels or do minor electrical work, and find that the collection of video games laying around would be a year salary of what my kids get, we see HUGE television sets, blue ray players in several rooms of the apartment, etc.
But no cookware, no books on the walls, etc.
Priorities I guess.
That is really telling.
Maybe it is by design. Maybe these consequences of the welfare state are intended consequences, not unintended consequences.
We hear about urban "food deserts". Maybe the urban poor stopped buying uncooked food before the supermarket left, not the other way around.
As I understand it, the National School Lunch Program benefits are not deducted from Food Stamps. So if you have kids in school, each kid is in essence overpaid in food stamps by about 1/3rd. Which means more money for potato chips and Little Debbie snack cakes.