Replace the welfare state with a cash subsidy for the poor.

How to deal with the poor, working and non-working, has been the bane of capitalism at least since the Progressive Era at the turn of the 20th century.  The system we now have in place, as described in this piece here, is inefficient, costly, and rife with disincentives to work.  The idea presented in this article to provide a cash payment to the poor based upon the percent their income falls below the poverty level for and individual, has been tried in test cases with inconclusive results. It remains, however, a better idea than the system in place now because it reduces the size and intrusiveness  of the bureaucracy.  Sounds like the way to go.