Great point! Are there any recent studies on the dollar value of welfare benefits actually being claimed by the low-income individual?
I’ve seen good data that full-time panhandlers can earn upwards of $40K a year, tax-free.
https://www.aei.org/publication/adjusting-transfers-federal-taxes-reduces-income-inequality-50/
http://www.economics21.org/html/myth-increasing-income-inequality-65.html
Sorry but I lost the original reference. Keep in mind that the headline BS is speaking about quintiles of income distribution not individual persons. There's plenty of research showing that individuals are highly mobile among those quintiles with most of the lowest moving up over time and many in the highest falling after retirement.