Some people reading my posts may incorrectly assume that my politics are liberal or left. For the record, if a well-designed scientific study finds that policy x is better than policy y and no policy for people, then I'm all for it... as long as we don't then assume that we cannot improve on policy x or find a better policy.

And, if you keep up with general science, you may have noticed that over and over we are surprised that complex systems do not have linear relationships to input. People are also complex systems. i.e. the misguided idea that cutting welfare makes people work harder and succeed. Sorry, people are not that simple; you must provide them with tools, both intellectual and emotional. Those who have succeeded were already in possession of the emotional tools to overcome. If you want to elimate welfare: improve education. (Ok, it's not really that simple, but it's a good start.)

A lot of this is basic social science/psychology. Please read up on it. It's not exact, but provides a general guideline on which you can make an informed decision.