[Biggd]

Originally Posted by jeffk

Well, the government reports the labor force participation numbers and they are significantly down so I wouldn't classify them as a myth. Although with the state of government these days, who knows for sure.

As to people not bothering to find work if they have government payments coming in that compensate them as much as a low level paycheck would, it has been proven. Under Clinton, when welfare was cut, economic disaster was predicted when people lost welfare payments. Instead, most people went out and got jobs and did fine. They hadn't bothered to do so before because they didn't have to because their welfare paid them as much as a job would. Also, once in the workforce for a while they found themselves with chances for advancement, getting raises, and ended up better off. No myth there either.

I'm not claiming that this applies to every situation and every person but overall there is a significant negative effect of paying people not to work.

The side benefit was the economy grew because more people were participating and government support costs dropped.

It's not only welfare but disability claims are way up. I know many people that get disability checks that are not really disabled. They work under the table and their whole life revolves around not losing that free money. If you took this money away 90% of them would get real jobs and pay taxes instead of being a burden on the system. This is a sore subject with me. I work in a neighborhood in Mass where there are quite a few people on welfare and disability. Most of them can work but they choose not to.