This is the exact attitude that's the problem—the idea that we don't live in a society, but we should all be self-sufficient individuals. Islands unto ourselves.
The whole point of living in a society is so that we can get together and make things better. That includes things like technological progress and mutual defense, but also taking care of those who have difficulty taking care of themselves.
We may not be fully in a post-scarcity society yet, but we're producing enough today, in terms of food, necessities of life, and basic luxuries, that it would be totally realistic to provide these things to every American for free and still be fully able to turn a profit. The idea that everyone should have to earn the right to live is both ludicrous and horribly callous.
The only way for us to progress as a species is to return to an attitude of community—but expanding that community to cover the whole world. None of us are getting out of this alive, so we should be kind, take care of each other, and try to make sure everyone has the best life they can. It just so happens that that's also the way to make sure that we have the most bright, inquisitive minds able to spend time and energy working on solving the rest of our world's problems, rather than being stuck in poverty traps and unable to focus on anything but survival.