And of course this had nothing to do with the war on drugs and the high incarceration rate of black males.
Funny you should mention that, since the incarceration rate started rising most dramatically about 20 years after the change in welfare laws.
Edit: fixed the link.
"Wet houses"-- subsidized housing for alcoholics (they need to get most of their own money for alcohol, but their other expenses are covered) might actually be a good idea. It's cheaper than trying to get them to stop drinking, arguably kinder than trying to get people to take on a very hard task that they aren't interested in, and leads to less collateral damage than having alcoholics couch-surfing or living on the street.
Utilitarians, what do you think?