“I believe the creators of the welfare state had good intentions”
No they didn’t.
Congressman Jack Brooks let my old man in on the little secret, LBJ’s Great Society was never intended to get anyone out of poverty.
Southern blacks were moving off their small farms and moving to the cities, mainly in the north.
This movement left a shortage of farm labor for the larger farms.
They thought it was a way to keep cheap farm labor. They could collect a govt check and work for farmers off the books.
The _supporters_ of the welfare system _wanted to believe_ they had good intentions.