https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/09/18/who-receives-benefits-from-the-federal-government-in-six-charts/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/09/18/who-receives-benefits-from-the-federal-government-in-six-charts/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/09/18/who-r... One issue with talking about United States social services in this manner is that there is a clear bias towards the elderly and the disabled (about 3/4 of recipients) instead of merely the impoverished (about 1/4 of recipients). Of the assistance to the impoverished, I'd wager that a huge chunk of that 25% is Medicaid. If there is indeed a problem with our social benefit programs, it has very little to do with these poor neighborhoods with McDonalds community centers. Instead, it will have everything to do with a society that is rapidly aging (mainly due to the demographics of the "baby boom"), the pay-as-you-go setup of Social Security, and perhaps our unwillingness to control medical costs that might strangle Medicare and Medicaid.