Welfare Spending Exceeds Median US Income
This is the root of many of our problems, both social and fiscal, I think:
From the Weekly Standard:
“Based on data from the Congressional Research Service, cumulative spending on means-tested federal welfare programs, if converted into cash, would equal $167.65 per day per household living below the poverty level,” writes the minority side of the Senate Budget Committee. “By comparison, the median household income in 2011 of $50,054 equals $137.13 per day. Additionally, spending on federal welfare benefits, if converted into cash payments, equals enough to provide $30.60 per hour, 40 hours per week, to each household living below poverty. The median household hourly wage is $25.03. After accounting for federal taxes, the median hourly wage drops to between $21.50 and $23.45, depending on a household’s deductions and filing status. State and local taxes further reduce the median household’s hourly earnings. By contrast, welfare benefits are not taxed.”
We’re spending more on welfare than your average middle-class American earns through working a job.
This doesn’t mean that benefits exceed median income. This is the overall cost of the programs. But still. This is a problem.
Tags: Economy, jobs, welfare
