Yes, some people would be stupid and waste the $3k on stuff they don't need because of the incredible amount of consumerism ideology pushed on people. Is it their fault they want things when everywhere they look tells them to want things? It is a gross overgeneralization to say that most would do this with the majority of their money. Most would spend the money on what they need, food, clothing, housing, etc. just like they do currently with welfare.

Most poor people work very hard. Have you ever noticed how the most back breaking jobs, stressful, and stringent jobs are the least paying? Construction, cooks, janitors, call centers, farm workers, landscapers, etc. The more money I made, the less I had to work.

It would help greatly if jobs paid a decent amount. More than 50% of the nation makes less than $30k a year. $3k for them is a 10% increase, it makes a huge difference. 40% of the nation makes less than $20k a year, making it a 15% increase for them. http://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2012 To say it won't make a difference and things will be as they were is naive and simply wrong.