You treat the person because we aren't heartless, but we also do a much better job of making them pay afterwards, like any other loan. And yes, we absorb the rest as a cost of living in a society.

But your train of thought is a good one to follow. How far are you willing to allow the government to tell you what you are allowed to do for your own good? Wear a helmet? Smoke? Drink alcohol? Eat red meat? Drive a fast car? Premarital sex? Mountain climbing? Limit TV and computer time per day? Watching or reading materials not pre-approved by the government until they can verify the content won't encourage you to engage is what they determine is risky behavior?

I agree with Supe, it's pretty easy to make excellent, cheap food at home, it just takes time and planning. Buy some bulk items, a slow cooker, a freezer and some plastic bags. You can make a month's worth of "TV Dinners" in one Sunday. But that takes a bit of effort and planning, two items far more rare than money amongst much of our "poor".

It does take time. My work ends about two hours before my wife's typically. I work plenty of late nights though. I cook most dinners from scratch. I can make it cheaper and much better tasting than pre-packaged. But it does require planning. I also built a pantry into a closet next to the kitchen, which helps a lot.

Crock pot rulez! :D

Some days we'll toss all the stuff in the pot the night before, then in the morning pull it out of the fridge, set on low, pick up a $0.99 loaf of grocery store french bread on the way home and OmNomNom.