well.....
since you asked.

keep in mind, this is in america where you can get SSI, SSD, SS, HUD, TANF, food stams, medicaid, medicare, etc.

my job: i enforce court orders for defendants to pay fine/court costs/appointed attorney fees upon conviction.........which means the defendants have to disclose their income/expenses to me (failure to do so, or lying about it, will result in arrest for contempt of court).

of the homeless defendants we get, on average, their weekly income is around $300 while they are living in a 'homeless shelter' (basically free housing, free food) and paying no bills.

the ones who have houses they rent or own but are on benefits often make more than $2000 per month but whose basic living expenses are less than $800 per month.

so, yes, in texas, you can live off the govt. quite well......you'll never be rich of course (unless you are suplementing your income with drug sales...which many of my defendants do), but you can live quite comfortably if you live in an area with a low cost of living.....which covers most of the state......and it is a big state.
( flirting with badgers What? It sounded good at the time., Mon 22 Oct 2007, 1:56, Reply)