Why we can't avoid welfare

Ben makes a valid point regarding the necessity of welfare programs even in the face of freeloaders who take advantage of the system. Though most of us would prefer a "fairer" system in which only the people who truly deserve aid receive it, this is not a practical possibility in modern America. I'll go even farther about the necessity of welfare -- not only is it impossible to draw a line between laziness and necessity or between poverty within or outside one's own control, it is necessary to provide welfare to all of these people, even if they don't deserve it. In the end, we have to support everyone in our society, no matter how lazy, hated, or evil they are. America has always been about protecting the disliked and disadvantaged -- we are careful to ensure rights to even the most despicable criminals and reviled hate groups, because as soon as one person's rights are revoked, everyone's rights are threatened. We have to support people in poverty, no matter the cause, in the same way we have to pay for healthcare for someone who comes into the hospital having a heart attack, regardless of whether they caused it or whether they can pay for treatment. It is a practical and a moral necessity -- we cannot feasibly simply send people out on the streets if we want to maintain a peaceful and civilized nation, and we cannot morally lock them up or leave them to die -- even more than free money, this outcome would be distinctly un-American.