Miss Snuffy on the privilege of poverty:

And then it occurs to me: my colleagues do not judge life in the same way that I do. For them, what makes life worth living is how much material gain one has. So of course they would feel sorry for those slum children. Those children have nothing and in the eyes of my colleagues can only be unhappy. In my eyes of course, they are huge successes. I do not feel sorry them. I admire them.

Benefits from our welfare state are a prison. They feed you in prison, so your body lives, but there aren't many who manage an intellectual or spiritual life there. Nor are any healthy, long term relationships developed during incarceration. Perhaps it's a surprise to some that a check from the government can have the same effects as iron bars, but I can tell you that the fear of losing that check quashes most attempts to leave the state-enforced adolescence.

Snuffy's post is very much worth reading. i'll even link to it twice, to increase the chances you'll click through and read it.