You are a talented, middle-class person in your early twenties about to start your career. 

You have the choice between a job in which you will make a lot of money and work long hours(e.g. investment banker, corporate lawyer, etc.) and a job which pays less but that you are more passionate about(e.g. social worker, chef, teacher, small business owner, etc.)

Welfare is given by the government to individuals in need (unemployment, families below the poverty line, limited access to basic human necessities, and so on). 

In the context of this debate, basic goods and services may look like (and are not limited to) subsidized housing facilities, education, food, and healthcare; and cash payments would be periodical cash allowances given directly that individuals can spend at their choice.