Governments all over the world, decry the waste of natural resources, but typically when complaining of such, they aren't referencing human resources, but material ones, such as water, food, and oil, amongst many others, but the real natural resource that is wasted the most, are human beings, of which there are far too many that are underutilized, underemployed, ill-educated, and ignored; in which many are placated by providing them with subsidies and benefits in order to survive but not to actually thrive.
The fact of the matter is that things get done because people and the tools that they utilize, labor. That is to say, in any viable country of real worth, it is the people that are the engines of growth, and countries that have taken the resources of young minds, developed them properly in school, have reaped the benefits of having done so, especially because we have been wise enough to piggy-backed upon knowledge and the materials created by past humans and societies, and have built well upon it.
However, for true success, at its highest level, societies need to look upon themselves as being one big team, and if certain players, do not participate, cannot participate, or won't ever participate, than their lack of effort and their lack of desire to do so, drags down the overall effect of the team. While it is great to have "superstar" people that can invest, work industrially, and come up with all sorts of wonderful devices, even the greatest superstar needs some sort of supporting cast, and those that are simply "deadweights" will drag down economic growth considerably.
If you think about it logically, it almost never makes sense, to provide over the long term to able body and able minded people, food and shelter, without creating a pathway that insists upon these people actually laboring for themselves at some point as real assets to their community. So too, to have certain portions of the population to be so ill-educated that they are functional illiterate in the 21st century, for a country as rich as America, is beyond disgraceful, for a mind that is not developed, is truly a mind that has been wasted.
Sure, no doubt, people can be trained for certain professions, of which there are an oversupply of people already doing these things, but if you take a look around, there are always, things to be done, that will make this world and society better, for streets need to be cleaned, communities need to be safe, roads and infrastructures need to be repaired and properly maintained, so too, students need tutors, children need guidance, senior citizens need assistance, so basically it can be said, there is always work to be done, that is simply lacking for sweat labor, organization, and materials.
An idle mind, and a not fully developed mind are a waste of a great resource, so too, people that are capable of doing some sort of productive work, but do not do so, is also a waste, and the tricks that government plays by providing material assistance to those that are idle, underemployed, and unemployed are the wrongheadedness of believing that taking from some to feed and house others, resolves problems, whereas in actuality, it just papers over them, and to a large degree, does so poorly and inefficiently.
The object of the exercise is in the absence of free enterprise providing the necessary opportunities and training for gainful employment, is for the government to step in and provide public work projects, training, and education that will create jobs and develop minds, so that we can utilize the entire body of America in a way that is fitting for a country that professes itself as the land of opportunity.