English

Noun

welfare trap ‎(plural welfare traps)

1. (chiefly US) A situation where the welfare system discourages people who receive government public assistance payments from entering low-paid work because such work does not produce a significant income increase.
   • 1982 Aug. 23, Robert Pear, "Getting tougher on work rules for food stamps," New York Times (retrieved 9 Nov 2015):

     Mr. Hayakawa said there was "a class of able-bodied persons who would rather collect public assistance than take jobs". . . . Cutting off food stamp benefits to these people, he said, would remove a disincentive to work, "close off one of the doors into the welfare trap."

Synonyms

• (chiefly UK) unemployment trap

Related terms

• inactivity trap

Translations