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This got me curious. Some quick googling indicates that likely isn’t the case. Apparently the US spends about double on corporate subsidies than the amount it s

by hattar 5y ago

This got me curious. Some quick googling indicates that likely isn’t the case. Apparently the US spends about double on corporate subsidies than the amount it spends on social welfare programs.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
I would group Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid with social welfare programs, which are 60% of federal government expenses. https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown-3305789 https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown-3305... The calculations also get tricky because there are lots of state and city level spending that would have to be accounted for, such as things like funding public schools.
- hattar 5y ago
  I don’t know that I’d count Medicare since it’s not for the poor, it’s for people over 65 regardless of income. Social security also goes to everyone regardless of income. Calling public schools a welfare program disproportionately allocated to the poor seems like a stretch too. Medicaid makes sense though, which is apparently about 10% of the federal budget.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    Medicare requires having paid into it for at least 10 years, and I believe there is some convoluted means testing going on with all the different “Parts” of Medicare and how much one’s premiums and benefits are. Social security is similar, see my other comment.
  - IMTDb 5y ago
    > Calling public schools a welfare program disproportionately allocated to the poor seems like a stretch too. It's not he's saying. He's saying that public schools should be considered part of the "welfare program". Which they probably should since public schools, like social security, are program that benefit society as a whole, which you can (or cannot) use depending on your personal situation. Someone else notes that those program tend, on average, to mostly benefit poor people - which they probably should. But it's not systematic. So I don't really see any taxonomy issues here.
- CodeWriter23 5y ago
  Social Security isn’t a “social welfare program”. It is a government-mandated retirement investment fund.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    There are varying degrees of means testing and wealth transfers happening with Social Security, seen when the government changes the age one starts receiving benefits and the amount of the benefit (and which cost of living adjustment to use). It is not a cut and dry case of social welfare, but it is also not a “what you get is what you put in” program either. I think it will only become more and more means tested and more akin to a social welfare program though.
  - refurb 5y ago
    By that logic universal healthcare isn’t a social program either, it’s government mandated health insurance.
randyrand 5y ago
24,000 business declare bankruptcy a year. Wouldn’t those also count as ‘poor’?
deleted 5y ago
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by hattar 5y ago

This got me curious. Some quick googling indicates that likely isn’t the case. Apparently the US spends about double on corporate subsidies than the amount it spends on social welfare programs.

lotsofpulp 5y ago

I would group Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid with social welfare programs, which are 60% of federal government expenses. https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown-3305789 https://www.thebalance.com/u-s-federal-budget-breakdown-3305... The calculations also get tricky because there are lots of state and city level spending that would have to be accounted for, such as things like funding public schools.

hattar 5y ago
I don’t know that I’d count Medicare since it’s not for the poor, it’s for people over 65 regardless of income. Social security also goes to everyone regardless of income. Calling public schools a welfare program disproportionately allocated to the poor seems like a stretch too. Medicaid makes sense though, which is apparently about 10% of the federal budget.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Medicare requires having paid into it for at least 10 years, and I believe there is some convoluted means testing going on with all the different “Parts” of Medicare and how much one’s premiums and benefits are. Social security is similar, see my other comment.
- IMTDb 5y ago
  > Calling public schools a welfare program disproportionately allocated to the poor seems like a stretch too. It's not he's saying. He's saying that public schools should be considered part of the "welfare program". Which they probably should since public schools, like social security, are program that benefit society as a whole, which you can (or cannot) use depending on your personal situation. Someone else notes that those program tend, on average, to mostly benefit poor people - which they probably should. But it's not systematic. So I don't really see any taxonomy issues here.
CodeWriter23 5y ago
Social Security isn’t a “social welfare program”. It is a government-mandated retirement investment fund.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  There are varying degrees of means testing and wealth transfers happening with Social Security, seen when the government changes the age one starts receiving benefits and the amount of the benefit (and which cost of living adjustment to use). It is not a cut and dry case of social welfare, but it is also not a “what you get is what you put in” program either. I think it will only become more and more means tested and more akin to a social welfare program though.
- refurb 5y ago
  By that logic universal healthcare isn’t a social program either, it’s government mandated health insurance.

randyrand 5y ago

24,000 business declare bankruptcy a year. Wouldn’t those also count as ‘poor’?

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]