>> Here I am working hard end paying my taxes so that (in a very, very small way $ or % wise) I'm empowering someone else to just sit around and get paid to do nothing but pop out babies and raise them poorly.

>Personally, what causes me to feel moral outrage is when I encounter this sort of derogatory statements, aimed at the poor. Based on something once overheard on a bus, nonetheless.

The idea that I overheard it on a bus makes it less credible doesn't really hold water in my mind. It was in an informal setting and thus more likely to be true. And if someone's motivation to have another child is to collect more welfare I'm not so convinced that it's an entirely unreasonable assumption that they're not going to do the best job raising them. If this mother couldn't think through the thoughts necessary to realize that welfare shouldn't be a system that you milk for all it's worth and instead is a system designed to help you get back on your feet (at least ostensibly) then I'm not so confident she's going to do a stellar job of everything else. She might very well teach them through actions if not words, that going on welfare is preferable to real work. That's a potent recipe for dependency.

>The fact that there is a tiny percentage abusing the help is a very poor excuse for not giving help to the much, much larger percentage of people who are deeply, genuinely in need of it.

That's a big fat [citation needed]. Furthermore if you assume that those who are abusing the system know the right things to say when they're interviewed or to put down on the forms I can't really figure out how you could reasonably determine the percentage of people abusing the system. Hire a million PIs to follow folks around? It's not as though the people fill out forms and check the box that says "I am lying about my need" which first off, isn't there and second would obviously disqualify them.

Furthermore if you look at this comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7903788) it reinforces the notion that abuse is rampant.

Finally I think it's incredibly offensive that you assume you know how I feel about the rich based on what I've said about SOME poor folks who are abusing welfare. You might THINK you know, but that does not translate into actual knowledge.

In reality I hate all rent-seekers rich and poor alike. If you want an income you should have to work for it like everyone else. I find the idea that someone can eat, sleep and live off the hard work of others morally outrageous. It doesn't matter to me the amount of ill-gotten gains that allows people to squander their lives without doing anything useful for society.