I believe you're interpreting the OP's second paragraph differently to how it was intended. The idea isn't that you're "giving" or "providing" or "subsidizing"

I believe you're interpreting the OP's second paragraph differently to how it was intended. The idea isn't that you're "giving" or "providing" or "subsidizing" with welfare - the point is that the subsidization has already occurred, just in a non-human focused way. Factory farming has been subsidized so processed sugars and unhealthy food are the norm. Companies are effectively subsidized by allowing minimum wage scheduling without providing healthcare. This all has knock on effects. Healthy food isn't just a cultural issue, many people simply don't have the time or access to be able to cook healthy natural food. For the vast majority of people, they have no possible access to a therapist, even if they wanted to or were able to afford it (unlikely in the case of the US healthcare system). And of course, since there's minimal insurance support for general therapy, there's a much smaller market for people to go into it. The negative feedback loop continues. I agree with your general point that life gives back very little meaning in our society, but its important to understand that this doesn't just occur because life is too easy. For many people, life is hard. And there isn't a visible path out of the situation they're currently in. Checking out/dropping out/giving up is honestly a reasonable response. TLDR: Try not to think of Welfare as a handout. See it as a signal of a broken society that needs fixing.