There has always been a safety net in the US, even before people started thinking only govt could provide one. Family, community, private charity, and religious organizations all provided a safety net to the elderly, sick, and less fortunate.

As the public safety net expanded, the private safety net has weakened.

Not just because of money and resources (certainly true), but because the reliance on a private safety net enforced good citizenship and behavior from those who knew they would someday rely on it.

Now everyone knows they can be a lazy asshole and still get the same public benefit as the hard-working, model citizen family man or woman. In fact, the hard-working citizen is the sucker in the equation.