There are several reasons why the welfare system must be eliminated. A utilitarianist, or someone who believes in doing what will maximize social utility, like John Stuart Mills, would say that the money used to fund welfare could be used in bettering the education system. In doing this, it would fix the problem at the root of it all, and educate people, instead of feeding their current state. This would be best for society as a whole. Another way to describe utilitarianism is to say that they believe that the decisions we make should always benefit the most people as much as possible, regardless of the consequences to the minority or even yourself. Another reason under that theory would be to say that by eliminating welfare, each person would have to pay less income taxes through obligatory payments. This would benefit society as a whole, since the number of Americans not on welfare outnumber the amount that are. Another reason a utilitarian would be opposed to welfare is because it allows people to be more complacent and lax about supporting themselves. By allowing people to not be productive citizens, they are not benefiting society as a whole, or the greatest amount of people.
Another view a person may take is the egoist view. An egoist believes that is their duty to pursue their