Every year, United States taxpayers are charged $1 trillion to pay for more than 80 welfare programs that are meant to help low-income families. But like anything government imposes itself in, the welfare state has become a bureaucratic mess and red tape nightmare. And costly. Very costly.
Earlier this week, the House Ways and Means Committee released a chart that looks at just how immense the welfare system has become. If you ever want to look at the most confusing chart in the history of the world then this is certainly it.
Here is the chart:
House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources Chairman Charles Boustany issued this statement:
What it shows is, in short, a mess. This system may have started out with good intentions, but it has become a confusing maze of programs that are overlapping, duplicative, poorly coordinated, and difficult to administer. I defy anyone to say this is the best way to address the human tragedy so many of our fellow citizens experience.
A couple of years ago, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report that studied the costs associated with the welfare system. The non-partisan organization found that $744 billion was spent just on things like food, housing, healthcare, education and cash.
“That’s approximately $6,500 for every American household. The House Ways and Means Committee seems interested in ‘efforts to modernize and streamline or, at the very least, better coordinate these programs to help more people achieve opportunity and upward mobility,’” American Enterprise Institute said in a statement. “That seems like a good start.”
The government beast gets bigger and the services provided shrink, that is the plan in DC. The most costly jobs program ever.
Link for the chart doesn’t show a chart…
Blah- Blah- Blah- Counter studies were at the heart of an in depth article many years ago in the NYT titled: Debunking Welfare Myths. Slamming the conservative rhetoric of the ’80’s. Much like other Neo-Natal-Nazi-Cons, Mr. Monan is trying to deploy here.