Rational decisions in an irrational world. Or vice versa.

So a single mom, working hard, finds she can live better by staying home and collecting government benefits than she can by holding down a job.

Is anybody surprised? I’m not.

Charlie Sykes got an email on that very subject over the weekend and posted it to his weblog. A specific story about a specific single mom who can make more by staying home than she can by working:

Our young lady found that she is now receiving $1607.78 a month or $19,287. Her hourly rate based on 40 hours a week is $9.34, or $1.34 an hour more than when she worked. Her other monthly expenses were cut by more than $600 a month or $7200 a year. Her free cash is more than $800 a month than when she was working. Then she wondered why she would ever want a job again.

Point #1: this young woman is making a rational decision. She can have more money without having to hold down a job.

Hey, like it or not, this is the system we’ve created.

Point #2: this young woman is making a very irrational decision. This may be better for her right now, but what about ten years from now? Five? Her life isn’t going to get any better living on welfare than it is right now. This is it. The tops. The peak. Unless she takes this opportunity to go back to school, get her GED, maybe learn a skill, this is as good as things will ever get for her, period.