I don't think it's jealousy as much as it's talking points propaganda. You demonize welfare recipients so voters don't recognize the real beneficiary is the employer whose labor costs the taxpayers are subsidizing. You cut taxes for the rich then claim they should not be forced to redistribute their honest earnings to those lazy or incompetent poor people. It's a false narrative. Most of the poor work very hard or are disabled. A lot of the rich don't do anything to earn their wealth. The narrative that should be the accepted one is, our society and economy are healthier if people earn livable wages, and things were a lot better when taxes on the highest incomes were greater. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/04/where-do-your-tax-dollars-go-a-long-story-in-5-quick-graphs/237128/#slide5
