Economy
U.S. Spending on Social Welfare Programs Is Way Up, But Far Less Of It Goes to the Poorest
Four decades of federal spending priorities, in charts.
When you adjust for inflation, the U.S. spent 74 percent more on social welfare programs in 2007 than it did in 1975, but the programs that have seen the biggest budget increases aren't helping the poorest Americans. That's according to a study scheduled for publication next year in the academic journal Demography, and which has already been making headlines this month.
The research was conducted by Johns Hopkins University economics professor Robert Moffitt, who presented his findings earlier this month at an annual meeting of the Population Association of America. He found that a family of four earning $11,925 a year in 2014 likely gets less government aid than a same-sized family bringing home $47,700.