[scarby2]

> Of course, the problem isn't really the rich. There aren't enough of them to strain the assistance budget even if they do all take the free lunch. The problem is the people who are richer than the ones who are eligible, but aren't actually rich. There are a lot more of them

Welcome to the squeezed middle. Don't make enough to be truly comfortable but too much to be eligible for government assistance.

> and the money to give them all free things may just not exist.

Though if we had a functional legislature we could make this money exist simply by bumping the tax rate in the relevant income bands so that the extra expenditure is covered by the higher taxes.