During Clinton they were talking about an overheated economy and that how 4.3% unemployment is optimal for maintaining a healthy economy, as any further reduction in unemployment would end up raising wages to attract and keep employees and thus increase inflation. So that actually that was the main purpose of welfare, to make available a pool of poor people willing to work for substandard wages without them starving to death first.
Trump bragging about 3.9% unemployment or whatever actually is not quite the accomplishment he touts it to be, because normally the Fed would raise interest rates to help slow economic activity and maintain that 4.3%. So those unemployment levels weren't being hit before because they didn't want it to be hit before.
But anyways, back to the poverty thing, that's why so many Southerners sign up. They like to talk like it's about patriotism (while driving with Confederate flag bumper stickers on their pickups), but they aren't the only ones signing up. It seems more prominent in the South because for most of those people, it's the best gig in town. It's either that or working at the Walmart or just staying on welfare in the trailer park.
We should have mandatory service for everyone when they turn 18. Especially nowadays, with today's youth being a bunch of lazy out of shape entitled slouches with no work ethic, respect, or notions of the concepts of duty and honor. Put a spine into them and make them respectful Americans.
