1. Welfare Is What's Eating the Budget.
- Author
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Gramm, Phil and Arrington, Jodey
- Subjects
- *
INCOME , *BUSINESSPEOPLE , *SOCIAL security taxes , *GOVERNMENT agencies , *INCOME inequality - Abstract
Means-tested social-welfare spending, such as Medicaid, food stamps, and refundable tax credits, is the main driver of the current fiscal crisis in the United States, not Social Security and Medicare as commonly believed. While Social Security and Medicare do contribute to the deficit, they are largely funded by dedicated payroll taxes. In contrast, means-tested welfare spending totaled $1.6 trillion in 2023 and absorbs 72.6% of unobligated general revenue. The growth in welfare benefits has outpaced defense spending, resulting in the U.S. redistributing a larger share of its GDP through transfers and taxes than most developed countries. The article argues for mandatory work requirements for welfare recipients and counting all transfer payments as income to accurately measure poverty rates. [Extracted from the article]
- Published
- 2024