Funny, because the kollel people I know who live in the US say the reason they live there and not in EY is because they wouldn’t be able to manage in EY, much as they would love to be in EY! And the Kollel people I know in EY struggle much more than the ones in the US! In the US, you never have to worry about food, because you can live on food stamps if you qualify. In general, people in EY have way less money and have a much harder time financially. That’s why so many people from EY go to the US to collect money; you never find Americans collecting money in EY!
Regarding the government cuts, for many people, that was the money that was paying for food for their babies. The government literally took food from babies’ mouths, without giving anyone an opportunity to find another way to feed them!