I think that maintaining an strong incentive to participate in the labor force is crucial to pursuing a unified political system.

This may be somewhat tangential, but one of the main factors economists and migration scholars have identified in determining the success of integration of immigrant populations has been labor force participation. Here is one free article on the subject, and here is one paywalled article--you can read the abstract

I think it is important to consider how government services can increase the incentives to work. Harris Rosen's philanthropic project in Orlando, FL is a great example. All he did was promise to pay college tuition for any high school graduates of Tangelo Park, and he offered to cover child care costs for young, single mothers who were in school. That's a very simple program, and it has had astounding effects: nearly 100% high school graduation, most go on to college, quadrupled property values, and plummeting crime rates, all for only $11 million. That's really cheap for such a turn around.

For me, ideas like this lead less to focusing effort on welfare, and more to effort on providing and incentivizing education and making sure people get paid well. Both of these are why I tend to more support the Bernie Sanders line of reforms (free education and guaranteeing decent wages) rather than welfare.

I know this doesn't really address your prompt that well, but I just thought I'd share the bit of thinking I've done on the topic.

EDIT: I screwed up the links.