The surging ranks of America's ultrapoor

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-surging-ranks-of-americas-ultrapoor/

By one dismal measure, America is joining the likes of Third World countries.
The number of U.S. residents who are struggling to survive on just $2 a day has more than doubled since 1996, placing 1.5 million households and 3 million children in this desperate economic situation. That's according to "$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America," a book from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that will be released on Sept. 1.
The measure of poverty isn't arbitrary -- it's the threshold the World Bank uses to measure global poverty in the developed world. While it may be the norm to see families in developing countries such as Bangladesh and Ethiopia struggle to survive on such meager income, the growing ranks of America's ultrapoor may be shocking, given that the U.S. is considered one of the most developed capitalist countries in the world.

But it gets even better

 Report: More than half of immigrants on welfare

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/01/immigrant-welfare-use-report/71517072/

Before the modern welfare system there were probably just as many immigrants that needed assistance, at least short term.
The difference is that then the assistance came from churches, fraternal organizations, family, friends....now practically all comes from the government and since the assistance is impersonal there is no pressure or sense of pride to get off of welfare.