> Otherwise, it's not even anecdata While it's no comprehensive study, it is very much anecdata, for it's how my parents, parts of my family and plenty of peop

> Otherwise, it's not even anecdata While it's no comprehensive study, it is very much anecdata, for it's how my parents, parts of my family and plenty of people I know have managed to climb out of poverty of all degrees before there was a welfare system. Hunger and work did not deter them. The word "mutante" (mutant) is often used to describe this kind of people, for how they decide to break the norm despite the environment. Growing up in a poor/lower middle-class neighborhood I haven't seen this change for the better with the welfare system. But I have seen people quitting their jobs to qualify for welfare. As I mentioned in another comment, I'm not opposed to a well-designed social safety net for those who can't get back into the workforce nor train themselves to do so, but rest assured, UBI or anything that allows people who are perfectly capable of working, the possibility to leech off the welfare system (read: their fellow citizens) permanently without giving back, is nothing short of a disgrace for society.