The “Rich Welfare Queens” Get Richer, And The Poor Get Poorer, And....

Social Welfare State, American-Style, Means Relief For The Rich 

 

1/13/12

WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has taken to accusing President Barack Obama of trying to turn the United States into a European-style social welfare state.

The hyperbole about Obama's actions aside, the United States already is a social welfare state -- almost right up there with the Europeans -- if you measure the total amount of drain on the Treasury caused by spending and subsides on such things as health care and retirement.

The one big difference is that in the American social welfare state, a lot of the benefits go to the rich.

"We spend a tremendous amount on private social welfare through tax subsidies," said Christopher Faricy, a political science professor at Washington State University whose forthcoming book is about our divided welfare state.

"It just goes to a drastically different population than what we usually associate with welfare programs," Faricy said.

Direct government social welfare spending pays for such signature programs as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and unemployment.

But there's also a whole other world of social-welfare measures in the tax code -- called tax expenditures -- that benefit individuals and companies.

Read More: Here