There is a significant 'jump' from the welfare culture of EBT cards, subsidized housing, free lunches, free medical, energy assistance, etc. to being self sufficient.
Anyone earning a starting wage will have to give up some of the goodies to get off the dole. It is not an easy transition, and I am convinced that that is intentional, designed to keep the poorest masses poor and dependent, as only the most determined will advance.
If the system was set up to encourage self-sufficiency, the person working a reasonable job would fare better than those doing best (legally) on the dole, to encourage people to do better, and the benefits would drop out in such a way that the transition would be less daunting.
In Detroit, every single student was given a lap top under the stimulus bill, plus a few big computers for the schools and administrators.