“Wrong, taking Gov. programs isn’t Tzedaka, it’s Parnossa.”
To you, not to the government.
It is a temporary form of assistance until one is able to be self supporting. That is how the government looks at it, even if you do not.
Does halacha equate the taking of tzedaka with earning parnassa? Does halacha require a gabbai tzedaka to give money to someone who comes to collect his daily “paycheck”? (I don’t know the answer)