Welfare Programs: is there too much federal aid for US?

A 2018 Rasmussen report found that 61% of Americans believe that too many people rely on government financial assistance.

Ironically, many people with this belief live in the states that receive the most aid. This disconnect is due to the state's assistance in the form of federal contracts, grants and tax cuts. The residents did not realize that they themselves benefited from the assistance of the federal government.

In 2012, Presidential candidate Mitromny said that 47% of the population will vote for the Democratic Party, no matter what. He claims that this is because they have received some form of federal assistance. Many people believe in this myth. But research shows that welfare and food stamp recipients do not vote on how many votes. Their income is so low that they are too busy to survive and cannot vote.

In fact, states that rely most on federal welfare vote for Republicans. They usually don't know how much they rely on tax credits, such as interest deductions for home mortgage interest. They only consider visible federal benefits, such as welfare checks or food stamps. Therefore, they believe that the government has not done too much for them personally.

Another myth is that immigration to the United States is for welfare and other benefits. According to legend, most illegal immigrants live on welfare. But the Department of Homeland Security found that less than 1% of these people are entitled to benefits. This is similar to a native American.

A similar myth says that undocumented immigrants came to the United States to give birth to "an anchoring baby" for free. But the report found that only 15.5% of undocumented immigrants benefited from Medicaid. About $2 billion is spent annually in hospitals, and hospitals must take care of anyone who appears in the emergency room. This is similar to 16.1% of native Americans who use Medicaid.

The study found that 9.1% of undocumented immigrants use food stamps, compared with 11.6% of home-grown immigrants using food stamps. Many undocumented immigrants receive these benefits because they live in families with eligible Americans.

There are six major welfare programs in the United States: TANF, Medicaid, Chip, SNAP, EITC, Additional Security Income, and Housing Assistance. In order to qualify, the income of the recipient country must be lower than the poverty level set by the state. There are other restrictions. TANF recipients must get a job after two years. If they have another child in this project, they will not get extra benefits.

Mandatory programs such as social security and medical insurance are not welfare programs. They are welfare plans based on individual payroll taxes. Many Americans believe that the federal government provides too much assistance. Ironically, most of them live in states that receive the most federal assistance. They don't know because aid is intangible, unlike food stamps and TANF checks. This intangible aid includes work from federal contracts and tax credits.

Other Americans believe that too many undocumented immigrants rely on welfare. However, only a small number of undocumented immigrants benefit from food stamps and Medicaid. Many people can do this because they live in the homes of qualified American citizens.