Prior to the 80's, we used to institutionalize those that could not take care of themselves. That had its own issues, but we just basically put them on the street when Reagan ended that practice in an effort to partially pay for eliminating the top tax bracket. That's an over-simplification, but you get the idea. The top tax bracket also had the net result of getting companies to spread the wealth around (strong middle class) and providing an incentive to invest in R&D. Overpaying employees or carrying huge profits would result in paying a higher percentage to the govt. There's a ton of data to support this, but that is why pre-1980's we didn't rely on the government as much.
