I would encourage you to look into the stats on welfare abuse and see how rare it is. The number of people who abuse the system and use it as an excuse to be lazy is tiny in relative terms. Clamping down on that small minority is only possible if you are willing to accept huge collateral damage in the form of pain inflicted on disadvantaged people who just need some help to find their feet.

If you allow people to slide into abject poverty, it just causes more poverty and social problems. Do you want to increase the number of people who are desperate, have nothing to lose, and feel like society doesn’t give a shit about them? What do you think that does to a person? Do you think that motivates them to better themselves? For some people maybe, but for many it means doing whatever they have to in order to survive, including crime, drugs, etc.

I would much rather live in a compassionate society that helps people when they need help. If that means that a small number of people get away with not pulling their weight then so be it. It’s a small price to pay.

It’s pretty damn clear that countries with a strong social safety net are happier and more prosperous over all than those with a callous sort of dog eat dog attitude.