This is a great question Chad and I agree it goes to the heart of much of the issues we face as a nation and a world:  Does an individual have the right and responsibility to take care of themselves or should every individual expect others to care for them?  And you've done a wonderful job of walking us through the implications of how you answer the question.

Although not a direct response to any of what you wrote you triggered a line of thinking I'd like to share.  One of the issues we face is that we have designed modern life in a way that disconnects us in our everyday experience and understanding of fact that we are all connected.

While I believe in principle with the idea that I am not my brother's keeper I think we have mutated that idea into what I do is none of your business and what you do is none of mine. To maintain our privacy it has become safer to get help from a stranger than a neighbor - after all what would they think or can I trust them because while they live next door I don't even know them.  I struggle often with the question am I helping or intruding.when I see someone in need.  It seems far easier to let "the authorities" or the experts or the people whose job it is handle it than to risk stepping over that line of socially acceptable "intervention".

Do I believe in personal responsibility?  Absolutely!  But personal responsibility cannot stop at being responsible for ourselves because we share responsibility for what those in the field of sustainability call the commons - those things we must share and care for together if we are to not only survive but thrive. And there are people who genuinely cannot care for themselves like the mentally ill, nor are their families equipped to care them.  I think we do need to find ways to help people who need help although I agree it must start with the people who come into meaningful contact with them.

We need to find a way beyond our focus on individuality (or the overly individualistic interpretation of personal responsibility) because the "I got mine" and it's none of your/my business mentality is just not sustainable - not for society or for the planet!