[Moderator, would you please add this post to the one I just posted to this thread? I hit enter too soon on the previous post. Thanks.]
However, in many states programs such as WIC are income-based only, so one can qualify for food vouchers even if one has significant assets, as long as one’s income is below the qualifying threshold. The same is true of Medicaid programs for children and pregnant women. Studies have determined that WIC program, for example, is an economically sound investment for the governments, in that each dollar spent on the program results in reduced government costs later. Of course it’s also true that, as you said, governments may change guidelines for these programs as their costs increase and their income shrinks.
One problem with so many families becoming economically dependent on government programs is that if these programs are eliminated or significantly modified, many families will no longer have a means of support. This is what happened in E”Y when the government modified the family allowances in a way that no longer benefitted large families as much.