Short answer: because in too many jurisdictions, not working gets sufficient “benefits”.
It turns out, despite what leftists say about capitalism, that a lot of people don’t want to keep earning more and more. They just want to earn enough, and even government “in-kind benefits” are a form of income.
After all, according to several sources such as the Heritage Foundation, the average poor person in the US lives quit well.
The following are facts about persons defined as “poor” by the Census Bureau as taken from various government reports:
80 percent of poor households have air conditioning. In 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
92 percent of poor households have a microwave.
Nearly three-fourths have a car or truck, and 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.
Nearly two-thirds have cable or satellite TV.
Two-thirds have at least one DVD player, and 70 percent have a VCR.
Half have a personal computer, and one in seven have two or more computers.
More than half of poor families with children have a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.
43 percent have Internet access.
One-third have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV.
One-fourth have a digital video recorder system, such as a TiVo.
see:
Understanding Poverty in the United States: Surprising Facts About America’s Poor
And just a few months ago:
Obama Pledges to Bring Broadband Internet to Poor Households
http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/obama-pledges-bring-broadband-poor-communities-n392836
Place to live, food to eat, medical care, air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter and high speed internet. Why work at all? Yes indeed. Why work at all?
We have a shortage of jobs, not labor.
“Place to live, food to eat, medical care, air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter and high speed internet. Why work at all? Yes indeed. Why work at all?”
Updated version of “Welfare Cadillac.”