The flyover state congressman has it right except for the "unintended side effect" part.
My father learned this back in the 1960s when he was encouraged by local citizens in the small town in Kansas where we resided to run for the town council where he was elected.
FWIW, Dad was a quiet guy and an introvert who did NO campaigning, but these type of elective offices went begging for good people back in those days because they paid next to nothing and required a lot of responsibility for not a lot of power.
Anyway, one of the council's jobs was to help unemployed people find work. One fellow in particular was a talented mechanic and seemed ambitious. They had him matched with a job within a week or two after Dad took office.
The guy came to the next council meeting not grateful, but incensed to find out he was getting up early to drive to to a job in a neighboring town and, after the expenses of commuting and such were paid, was actually less better off than he'd been before when he was sleeping until 10 a.m. or so, going fishing when he pleased and doing some occasional mechanical work for people in the small town for cash under the table during those occasional times when he wanted extra money.
Guess what we’ve learned in our family? Preemie babies are Medicaid babies...even when you have good insurance. They have two years of care that is unbelievable- including private nurses at your home who can only take care of one baby so if twins, you get two nurses. There are therapists galore and then a visitor each week who brings supplies. This is what insurance company lobbyists and government employees have negotiated for the others of us. Many of the formulas and drugs are so costly that WIF pays for those.
I can count on more than one hand people who cheat the system by marrying across state lines to avoid giving up benefits from one state (disability), divorcing to get and keep benefits, a fake disability, hoveraround wheelchairs for those who can walk but a retirement home doctor gets a nice cut when he writes the prescription (and, my senator cannot tell me if we get these back and refurbished or if the family gets to sell them on ebay), preemie babies with full care, those who look for work and vacation when they are on unemployment, altering hours you work to try for extra grant money, limit your credit cards and then claim bankruptcy, get health insurance when you know something big is wrong, get appliance insurance when you know something big is about to go out, etc. The tragic list goes on and on. 2Corinthians 7:14 is a joke in America but we want God to Bless America!
A friend won’t marry her live-in boyfriend because that would expose her to risk of total financial loss should his startup business fail. Just doesn’t make economic sense to do what she otherwise would.