"It goes against one of the core principles of being American, the ability to work your way up, without limits." is horseshit. Tell that to a child born in the inner-city with a single parent working 2 jobs and a garbage primary education.
Is there any evidence of this? I see this argument used a lot to dissuade from the "handouts" thing and for not helping people. Don't non-profits technically receive handouts? Aren't grants technically handouts?
A handout, as I understand it, is money given that isn't meant to be paid back. I think a good portion of handouts already exist, it's just easier to justify not giving handouts to people that are societally (or personally) perceived as inferior because it's easy to not empathize with their situation.
Can you cite any of these claims? I'd like to understand this a little better.