Hand-Up vs. Hand-Out

So, I have been learning about the Great Depression in my History class this week. My professor said something interesting tonight that got me thinking. Talking about Herbert Hoover and his "hands-off" approach to dealing with the crisis caused by the Stock Market Crash, my professor said that Hoover was willing to give people a hand-up, but not a hand-out. I honestly have no idea what my professor's political views are, but I found it interesting that he felt the need to make sure that the distinction between the two concepts was pointed out. There is a HUGE difference between a hand-up and a hand-out.
A hand-up gives someone who is going through rough times enough help to get over the hump. It gives them a boost up out of the ditch and gives them the tools to continue climbing the ladder, gradually weaning them off of assistance until they are completely back on their feet.
Conversely, a hand-out is just enough help to keep someone's head above water so they won't drown, but not enough to pull them out of the deep water to stand on their own. Hand-outs keep people static, at a stand still, not getting worse per se, but definitely not growing or getting any better. Government hand-outs give no incentive to better oneself. On the contrary, they often give people an excuse not to better themselves. There is little to no weaning process, it is hot and cold. The minute you make a dollar more than the maximum income allowed, you get penalized. The assistance gets cut off flat, instead of slowly being reduced until you no longer need it at all. With this policy, the incentive is to stay right where one is, making enough to get by but little enough that the maximum allowable income is not reached.
Government can, and in times of great necessity, probably should give a hand-up but never a hand-out. However, our government is doing just the opposite. It is giving hand-outs right and left. But the problem is, these hand-outs aren't really helping people, they are keeping people stuck in the rut and then penalizing them for trying to climb back out. This is not the way it should be! America is the land of the industrious, the innovators, the entrepreneurs. When someone hits low times, it is always encouraging to have a little help that will ensure they won't starve, but no one really wants to be on assistance; they want to stand on their own two feet and make a name for themselves. So, how do we fix the system? Or can it even be fixed? What do you think?