The Stimulus Package: A Trojan Horse for Welfare Spending

Disclaimer: This post is comprised largely from smart people's research. I have not the time, nor the burning desire, to parse through 647 pages of infrastructure "improvements" (how many bridges do we really need?), analog converters for those who cannot afford them, and other government handouts. However, if you feel up to it, you can find the House Bill on the site of my favorite publication, The Huffington Post.


Clearly, President Obama is not backing down from a staple of his campaign, Share the Wealth. Of the $789 billion stimulus plan, $264 billion (roughly 33%) is new means-tested welfare spending; this figure represents about $6,700 in new welfare spending for every poor person in the U.S. Means-tested welfare spending programs give cash, food, housing, medical care, and social services to poor and low income individuals. What is not widely realized, is that this bill sets in motion another $523 billion in new welfare spending, and will bring the total 10-year fiscal burder, added to the national debt, to $1.3 trillion! If your household pays income tax, this is going to cost you around $17,000. Here are the facts from Robert E. Rector, dubbed the "intellectual godfather" of welfare reform by National Review Editor, Rich Lowry.

"Even without the extra spending in the stimulus bill, means-tested welfare spending is already at a historic high and growing rapidly. In 2008, federal, state, and local means-tested spending hit $679 billion per year. Without any legislative expansions, given historic rates of growth in welfare programs, federal, state, and local means-tested welfare spending over the next decade will total $8.97 trillion. The House stimulus bill adds another $787 billion to this total, yielding a 10-year total of $9.8 trillion. The total 10-year cost of means-tested welfare will then amount to $127,000 for each household paying federal income tax."

A major new welfare program in the stimulus bill is Obama's "Make Work Pay" refundable tax credit. Costing $23 billion per year, the credit will provide up to $500 in cash to low income adults who do not pay income tax in the first place; these are able bodied adults without dependent children! Talk about spreading the wealth... It is becoming very apparent that President Obama and his staff intend to make this "stimulus" a permanent part of a new, much larger welfare state.

Now that the facts are out of the way, we can move on to some original thoughts.

As I take some rhetoric from our President, let me be clear: I am not against giving aid to those in need. However, I do not believe that our government is duty-bound to do so! In my opinion, the effect of this new welfare program is going to be exactly opposite of its intent. If individuals can continue to be supported while loafing around and having 14 babies because they want to, how are they motivated to get out of poverty? Give them the tools that they need, not the means.

By the way, this entire stimulus process does not make any sense at all. Try this exercise: buy 17 vacation homes with borrowed money, wait a few years (all the while failing to make payments and running yourself deeper into debt), and then go ask your bank for some additional funds to distribute to your friends. Then, let me know how much money your bank gives you. It doesn't work that way, and it should be common sense! How in the world can you climb out of debt by substaintially adding to it? Even if the package delivers the promised 2 -3 million jobs (which it won't), we are spending nearly $270,000 per job. Last I checked, the average household income in America was somewhere around $45,000 - $50,000. Things are not adding up. We clearly have our 21st century FDR, now where is our 21st century Henry Ford?

To cap it off: Two Democrats on an Escalator.