Welfare for the Non-Poor | Cato Institute

Welfare for the Non-Poor | Cato Institute: "In 1965, transfer payments from the federal government were equivalent to less than 10 percent of all wages and salaries paid in the United States. As recently as 2000, that figure was just 21 percent. Today, transfer payments are equivalent to almost 35 percent of all salaries and wages. And these payments are not going just to the poor. In 1979, for example, more than 54 percent of federal transfer payments went to the poorest 20 percent of Americans. Today, less than 40 percent does.

And, if one includes payments to government contractors and salaries of federal employees, roughly 97 million Americans — 31 percent of the population — receive more than half their income from the government."

"the federal government spent almost $100 billion on corporate welfare last year"

"many of the loudest critics of welfare for the poor are the quickest to object when future Medicare cuts are discussed"