Nope, not always. I was raised by my aunt/guardian on AFDC, free lunch, government cheese and powdered milk, the works. Unfortunately for her, her son and me, my aunt was incapable of a lot of the life skills the rest of us take for granted.
She tried, but reading was extremely hard for her. Math was hard for her. Learning positive social skills to network and move up in the work world was impossible for her, because relating to other people was hard for her, and this was on top of the mental illnesses that kicked in on her during my childhood. She was lucky to get a job in a hospital laundry – I had to fill out the application for her when I was 12. But that job didn’t pay enough even for her to live on on her own, so she had to get on AFDC for us. No man was going to marry her, and she knew it. Can you imagine her despair?
If I showed you in street view on Google Maps the various dilapidated houses I grew up in, you’d be appalled and wondering if you weren’t in parts of Alabama. Thank goodness I went to middle and high schools in rich communities, or university would’ve been a severe culture shock. I’m sure there are many people out there like her. You can’t just let them and their kids fall through the cracks, because you never know. Not all the children of the poor are wastrels.
Neither I, nor her son, grew up to be on welfare, even though we took different paths. I know a number of kids who grew up the same and didn’t get on AFDC, or whatever they call it today, as adults. We were ashamed of our poverty and were determined to not live that way.