Compassion for those most in need is fine but the most compassionate thing anyone can do for the country is ease job creation and leave people alone to succeed or fail on their own.
I think you’ve probably hit the right note. Compassion can take many forms, but making a person dependent on government handouts really isn’t compassionate when you take the long view. We aren’t doing people any favors by making them think that government can solve all their problems. I have nothing against helping someone out who is down on their luck through no fault of their own, but the compassionate thing to do is help them back on their feet and then they have the chance to succeed (or fail, don’t take that away from them, either).