text: Welfare is financial assistance paid by the government to certain entities or groups of people who are unable to support themselves alone, or are perceived by the government to be able to function more effectively with financial assistance. Some welfare is general, while some are specific and can only be invoked under certain circumstances, such as a scholarship. Welfare can be given to both individuals, or be given to companies or entities, which take place as corporate welfare.\n\nReasons for individuals being unable to support themselves alone might be unemployment, disability, lack of education or some other reason. Assistance may also take form of other relief, such as tax credits for working mothers. Welfare is known by a variety of names in different countries, all with the fundamental purpose of providing an economic or social safety net for disadvantaged members of society. Almost all developed nations provide some kind of safety net of this kind; the governments of those nations where this is especially prominent are known as welfare states.\n\nThe desired outcome and purpose of welfare varies. For individual welfare for the non-disabled, the purpose of welfare often is to provide those who require financial assistance in order to attain a higher income in the first place, especially for those who are perceived to be stuck in the cycle of poverty. The justification for financial assistance to such individuals often cites the requirement for existing financial resources in order to attain tertiary education that would allow individuals to gain more income, and thereby get out of welfare eventually. Welfare for the disabled, in contrast, does not eventually expect non-dependency, and the justification is more philosophical. Welfare may be given to entities as corporate welfare in order to provide capita to industry are perceived by the government to need financial assistance in order to survive or to expand but are thought by the government to be valuable industries eventually and will eventually become non-dependent.\n\nSome of these ideal outcomes and purposes, as well as welfare's effectiveness have been challenged by political lobbies such as those who oppose big government, such as minarchists or libertarians.\n\nPersonal Welfare:\nThe amounts paid to individuals are typically very low, and may fall below the poverty line. Recipients must usually demonstrate a low level of income such as by way of "means testing", or financial hardship, or that they satisfy some other requirement such as childcare responsibilities or disability. Those receiving unemployment benefits may also have to regularly demonstrate that they are periodically searching for employment. Some countries assign specific jobs to recipients who must work in these roles in order for welfare payments to continue. In the United States and Canada, such programs are known as workfare.