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> This analysis also ignores government transfers. AFAIU, by dollar amount government transfers in the U.S. are roughly comparable to those in most European co

by wahern 5y ago

> This analysis also ignores government transfers. AFAIU, by dollar amount government transfers in the U.S. are roughly comparable to those in most European countries. However, a disproportionate amount of those transfers are spent on medical care, a consequence of the high cost of medical care in the U.S. Moreover, a disproportionate amount of government medical spending goes toward the elderly and small, high risk groups. IOW, even at comparable dollar amounts, government transfers in the U.S. simply don't provide the same sort of secure economic footing that people can use to get ahead in some other countries.

refurb 5y ago
Disagree. The biggest transfer is cash through the EITC. If you're eligible for EITC, you're likely eligible for Medicaid which has near-zero out of pocket costs for medical care. I keep hearing how the US has a "non-existant safety net" yet can help but notice safety net programs are more than half the federal budget.
- wahern 5y ago
  > The biggest transfer is cash through the EITC. Per Wikipedia, "At a cost of $56 billion in 2013, the EITC is the third-largest social welfare program in the United States after Medicaid ($275 billion federal and $127 billion state expenditures) and food stamps ($78 billion)".[1] That looks to me like Medicaid spending is nearly 8x that of EITC. And that's just Medicaid. Medicare spending is greater still, though I don't know the breakdown of Medicare spending by revenue source--FICA vs straight government subsidy. The subsidized component may be less than Medicaid, or may already be accounted for by Medicaid. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_income_tax_credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_income_tax_credit Wikipedia's source is http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/08/federal-spending-by-the-numbers-2013 http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/08/federal-spe...

by wahern 5y ago

refurb 5y ago

Disagree. The biggest transfer is cash through the EITC. If you're eligible for EITC, you're likely eligible for Medicaid which has near-zero out of pocket costs for medical care. I keep hearing how the US has a "non-existant safety net" yet can help but notice safety net programs are more than half the federal budget.

wahern 5y ago
> The biggest transfer is cash through the EITC. Per Wikipedia, "At a cost of $56 billion in 2013, the EITC is the third-largest social welfare program in the United States after Medicaid ($275 billion federal and $127 billion state expenditures) and food stamps ($78 billion)".[1] That looks to me like Medicaid spending is nearly 8x that of EITC. And that's just Medicaid. Medicare spending is greater still, though I don't know the breakdown of Medicare spending by revenue source--FICA vs straight government subsidy. The subsidized component may be less than Medicaid, or may already be accounted for by Medicaid. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_income_tax_credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_income_tax_credit Wikipedia's source is http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/08/federal-spending-by-the-numbers-2013 http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/08/federal-spe...