How Did It Get This Bad?

How did the hills get this bad? Well, they have a history of corrupt government. They have a history of feudalism. But, so do a lot of other places. Since I arrived in Appalachia, I have seen glimpses of a time that did work. It doesn't now, but I have seen glimpses. So, what went wrong?
I blame the gummint, or government as most people know it. If you look at the average, American, middle-class family, you will see that their birthrate is basically at replacement levels. If you look at the lower classes, you will see a different story. Lower class families in the United States are allowed to have 6 children, and they get more money for each child up to the magic number of 6. The money is not a small amount either. These lower class types get free housing, free utilities, and if you want to get annoyed, go to Wal Mart on the first of the month and watch the middle class people buying hamburger, while the welfare types have their shopping carts filled with steaks and lobster. Of course, having nothing to do, they just hang around all day and engage in petty theft, vandalism, and other acts to annoy the neighbors. Nature or nurture doesn't matter either. These people generally don't go to school and grow up wanting to collect a gummint check like mommy and daddy. This idiocy has been going on for over 3 generations now. Let's take a look at the numbers.
Every group of people will have idiots. People who are unfit to live in society and are just a major drain on it. Kind of like cancer. Usually this number is small, say 10%. Not an ideal condition, but one which can be lived with. Now, let's see what happens when the government gets involved. Since the cancer class is having 6 kids, in generation 1 they go from 10% of the population to 25% of the population. You are going to start seeing problems at this level. By generation 2, they will be 50% of the population. At this point, you are getting a ghetto. In generation 3, where we are now, they make up 75% of the population. No society can survive this. Of course if you own 1000 acres of land, it gives you lots of minions. If you're a politician, you get lots of votes. If you are a government worker or store owner, it lets you launder lots of federal money. If you are middle class, you might as well not even try. You don't have a chance with numbers like this. Fifty years ago, the local nobility needed to reach some agreement with the middle class. The middle class was needed for their survival. Now, they can just count on the federal monies funneled through the welfare crowd. They don't get as much money of course, but they do get total control. The middle class does not stand a chance. 
Of course, it will be even worse when generation 4 comes along, when they will by 90% of the population.