A hundred years ago the social safety net didn’t exist. The earliest U.S. government assistance
program was conceived in 1910 and most of the rest were enacted post-1935.
Sure, there have always been rich parents that coddled their children through adulthood, handing
them fully-operational businesses to destroy or trust funds to bleed dry. And
there may even have been a certain number of less-well-off parents willing to
sacrifice their meager savings on a dissolute youngster who stubbornly refused
to pull his weight and bear his family responsibilities.
But beyond the family level, no institutions existed to provide for the welfare of society at large.
There was no taxpayer-financed crutch available to help failed or unfortunate
citizens get back on their feet.
Good thing times have changed. Or maybe not.