the age of entitlement

From today's Australian
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/nation-cant-afford-welfare-that-is-simply-too-good-to-swap-for-work/story-e6frg6zo-1226936414243#

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TELLING people they can’t have government money is one of the hardest things a politician can do.

But when the budget has been in deficit for years, the Treasurer can’t avoid breaking the bad news.

Wayne Swan had to do it; now Joe Hockey does too.

The government has sharpened the message by citing the $54,417 that a sole parent can get under existing rules.

The amount is far more than the average received by single mothers. Even so, it raises a tough question: how could someone receiving so much ever afford to give up the government’s help?

If a single mother with two children is receiving $54,417 tax-free, as the government claims, she would have to find a job paying far more just to keep up with the benefits, given that she would have to start paying tax.

The heart of the problem is whether the benefits are so generous that they discourage someone from entering the workforce — which is the very purpose of some of the assistance.

The Treasurer bases his claim on a single mother who complained to him about the budget, but The Australian has not verified her identity. While the payments are all possible, it is hard to know how many individuals actually receive the payments all at once.

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That level of income, tax free, equates to a taxable gross income of approximately $71,000 for the 2013/14 FY.

What possible incentive is there to wean oneself off the public teat?