The politics here are simple, and VERY important: When people see direct benefits from government, they support government, and when people do not see the benefits of government action, things like tax credits to employers, and Obamacare, which took years to cut in, they see government as a failure.

All of the “clever” actions taken by members of the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment) to make sure that the benefits are as indirect and invisible as possible, which was a central conceit of the Obama administration, only serve to create a political backlash against good policies.

The same goes for means testing, which is far more likely to reject someone “deserving” of the aid than someone who is not, because the latter, having more resources, are better equipped to navigate the maze of petty bureaucrats holding “Bullsh%$ Jobs.”