[bgill]

my maternal grandparents struggled, so at one point, they had to “go on relief”

Relief was a temporary situation. Today, it's a generational lifestyle.

[fatnotlazy]

Years ago, I read a newspaper story about 3 generations of one family on welfare. The first generation had a number of catastrophes not of their doing, which forced them to obtain assistance. But the second and third generation consisted of school dropouts, unwed mothers, drug addicts and general layabouts. They were on welfare because of their own irresponsibility.

I wrote a letter to the editor offering sympathy for the grandparents, but not for the subsequent generations. Other readers were not amused. I was accused of being racist, hateful, heartless and so on.

Well, if the food stamp/public assistance system collapses under the strain, they will have no one to blame but themselves. The goose is running out of golden eggs.