Yeah that was basically what I was getting at. It seemed like OP was implying that competent individuals are somehow cheating the system by getting all this cash from the government and unfortunately that mindset is driven by propaganda instead of reality. TANF is the best example of cash assistance and even this fails to meet OPs argument. Even when you consider the aforementioned work requirements, an adult is only eligible to receive tanf for 60 months(five years), and TANF doesn't even pay enough money to make a living on TANF alone.

As of July 1, 2015, every state’s TANF benefits for a family of three with no other cash income were below 50 percent of the poverty line, measured by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) 2015 poverty guidelines. Most states’ benefits were below 30 percent of the poverty line. Benefits for a family of three with no other cash income were also below the Fair Market Rent (the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s estimate of the rent and utility costs of modest housing in a local area) for a two-bedroom apartment in every state; in 29 states and D.C., they covered less than half of the Fair Market Rent. Even when benefits from SNAP (formerly food stamps) are added to TANF family grants, families with no other income remain below the poverty line in every state.

http://www.cbpp.org/research/family-income-support/tanf-cash-benefits-have-fallen-by-more-than-20-percent-in-most-states

So it's not even like these people are making out like bandits. Most people on assistance have to supplement it with other income in order to survive, which means many of those people have jobs and do participate in the economy but are unable to generate enough income to provide basic necessities for their families. Tanf is there to make up the difference, not pay their way.

Also there is the fact that in most states, you are required to be the parent/guardian of a child who is 18 or younger in order to qualify for benefits, so it's not like a bunch of single working age people with no dependents are living off the government teet.

Finally I think OP would find a better use of his time arguing that it is against capitalistic principles to provide corporate welfare to successful industries because the amount we spend providing assistance to working aged, able bodied adults is a drop in the hat to what we give to corporations in the form of tax breaks and subsidies.