Hi onlein, 
All ( )men are created equal, but we soon sort that out.  Perhaps a safety net is not what we need but rather a great tent where all of us are home.  Were we to make changes to the tax codes so that taxes were progressive and without loopholes, we would have lots of wherewithal to provide for more equality of outcome as opposed to apparent equality of opportunity.  But we would have to want to and to believe that everyone had a right to that rather than just the righteous and deserving.  We could look to the Lutheran countries for an example. See maybe "Viking Economics" by George Lakey for a taste.  
Cheers.