It's not surprising that the shame element has been lost. It was inevitable with how this system "works."
Let's say you know someone who is financially better off than you are. You see that they qualify for and take the free stuff. What would your immediate thought be? Most people would think "hell, if they're taking it then I might as well too." That is the precise moment when the shame factor gets lost and a snowball effect begins.
It gets even worse when you have actual wealthy people thinking along these lines. My thought process goes like this and it would be a lie to say I haven't thought it: I see huge numbers of people are taking the free stuff who don't truly need it. Even more infuriating, that so many feel entitled to it, don't appreciate it, and don't even try to get off of it. I'm being forced at gunpoint to pay for this outrageous system. That makes me feel like a sucker who is being taken advantage of. Therefore, I have no objection to taking for myself, whatever I can qualify for. This whole thing is exactly like the metaphor of more people getting in the cart than pulling it.
I can't think of a more obvious example of a system that should be outright abolished. Considering we can't even get minor cuts to this monstrosity, I have to believe it's on purpose a la Cloward-Piven strategy.
Let's say you know someone who is financially better off than you are. You see that they qualify for and take the free stuff. What would your immediate thought be? Most people would think "hell, if they're taking it then I might as well too." That is the precise moment when the shame factor gets lost and a snowball effect begins.
It gets even worse when you have actual wealthy people thinking along these lines. My thought process goes like this and it would be a lie to say I haven't thought it: I see huge numbers of people are taking the free stuff who don't truly need it. Even more infuriating, that so many feel entitled to it, don't appreciate it, and don't even try to get off of it. I'm being forced at gunpoint to pay for this outrageous system. That makes me feel like a sucker who is being taken advantage of. Therefore, I have no objection to taking for myself, whatever I can qualify for. This whole thing is exactly like the metaphor of more people getting in the cart than pulling it.
I can't think of a more obvious example of a system that should be outright abolished. Considering we can't even get minor cuts to this monstrosity, I have to believe it's on purpose a la Cloward-Piven strategy.