> also apply to child tax credits, transportation benefits, etc. as well, so it does not answer why you see income based benefits
This is a good question. We do generally depend on other people in modern world and it is hard to escape. Obama’s shitah is indeed that an entrepreneur “did not build that” because community provided resources. Indeed, same entrepreneur born in North Korea would rise to smuggling goods from China and we need to be grateful to people who support our lives … My feeling is that Y’D talks about any income-based help as the context is “helping the poor”, but then many tax credits are also income-based. Maybe, it means being in the category where you can take more than you give (see R Dessler defining people as givers OR takers). Maybe someone wants to look for more sources on these or ask a shailoh?