The poor have it so rough:
New data compiled by the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee shows that, last year, the United States spent over $60,000 to support welfare programs per each household that is in poverty. The calculations are based on data from the Census, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Congressional Research Services.
“According to the Census’s American Community Survey, the number of households with incomes below the poverty line in 2011 was 16,807,795,” the Senate Budget Committee notes. “If you divide total federal and state spending by the number of households with incomes below the poverty line, the average spending per household in poverty was $61,194 in 2011.”
This dollar figure is almost three times the amount the average household on poverty lives on per year. “If the spending on these programs were converted into cash, and distributed exclusively to the nation’s households below the poverty line, this cash amount would be over 2.5 times the federal poverty threshold for a family of four, which in 2011 was $22,350 (see table in this link),” the Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee note.
I’m sure there’s a good reason why many of these welfare households are making more than the median income of your average American, but for the life of me I just can’t see it. The poor in America receive more benefits than middle-class Europeans, but the Democratic party behaves as if they’re always one step away from dying of starvation. The fact that they and the rest of their community live in poverty is because of a few things: a) poor money management, b) bad work ethic, and/or c) laziness. Now, not every poor person is a lazy layabout who blows all his money on booze, but there’s a distinct tendency for the poor to follow that pattern. Welfare is not supposed to be a lifestyle, it’s supposed to be a last resort, nor is it something to brag about as if you’re getting over on the System. If we wonder why we’re going broke, look no further than who it is that’s getting the majority of our tax dollars.
Patriotism, Inc. 