It's not free and it's not a handout. Tax money pays for it. When you work, you pay taxes. If you don't work, guess what? You still pay taxes. No one escapes sales tax. No one escapes vehicle registration fees, the tax paid by companies which you buy stuff from, etc. Everyone in America pays some form of tax to the government. Unless you are living 'off grid' you are paying taxes.
So first you must show him no one is getting anything 'for free'.
People are getting back something they have paid into. This is like MANY government programmes.
See that chart? A study done a few months ago asked Americans have they ever received government assistance or funds. Over half of the people polled said no, even though they have.
Getting a tax deduction for your child? That's government assistance. Getting a deduction for the interest paid on your mortgage? Guess what, that's government assistance. The list goes on, but the reality is 80% of Americans currently get some form of money from the government.
Some people choose to focus on the welfare recipients, as they appear to be an easy target. It's a right-wing tactic which has always played well with middle and upper class. Labeling them as 'parasites' when the reality is percentage-wise the poor give MORE of the money they have to the government than the rich. That's a well documented fact.
That's also only in America. Every other first world country has tax bands and the more you have the more you pay. America is backwards as the more you have, the LESS you pay. They say 'oh well rich people give more'. Yeah they should, they HAVE more. It's backwards logic.
I mean, do you know how much millionaires and billionaires get back on their mortgage payments each year from the government? That amount dwarfs the amount paid out to welfare recipients in TOTAL, forget the 4% - 6% of fraud which is estimated to occur. If they cut of that tax loop hole, that GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE for the mega-wealthy that amount of money would dwarf the amount spent yearly on a long list of many other government programmes.
The question you really should be asking him is why is he focused on one small, miniscule expenditure which is going to people who in most cases truly need it and at the same time ignoring the fact the mega-wealthy are also getting government assistance on a level which makes welfare for the poor look pale in comparison WHEN THEY DO NOT NEED IT?
That's before you get into the disproportionate amount of tax paid by the POOR in comparison to the rich in America. Poor people pay more, get less. Rich people pay less, and get a shit-tonne more. But thats a whole different topic sure.