Needs and taxes

Government assistance programs each have eligibility requirements, which may include income level, family situation, age, and disability status. Some examples of these programs include:

• The Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides health insurance for free or at a reduced cost
• Social Security for people of retirement age, people with disabilities, and survivors of family losses, including spouses and children
• Medicare, a public health insurance program for people who are 65 and older or have certain disabilities
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also called “food stamps,” which offers food benefits
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which offers nutritional support to mothers, children, and pregnant women
• The National School Lunch Program, which offers free or reduced-price lunches to students
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which provides monthly payments to low-income people
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), sometimes called welfare, which supports low-income families with monthly cash payments
• The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which subsidizes heating and cooling bills
• Rental assistance programs including the Section 8 housing program
• Unemployment insurance for people who have lost jobs

Source: USA Facts

What does it all cost?

A significant portion of U.S. federal spending goes to social programs, primarily through what is known as “mandatory spending.” These programs are generally established by permanent law and are not subject to annual appropriations by Congress.

Based on recent estimates (Fiscal Year 2024 data):

• Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid combined account for a substantial portion of mandatory spending, often around 75% of mandatory spending or roughly 50% of total federal spending.
  • Social Security typically accounts for around 21-22% of the federal budget.
  • Health insurance programs (Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, ACA subsidies) together comprise about 24% of the budget.
    • Medicare alone accounts for over half of this health insurance spending.
• Economic security programs, which provide aid to individuals and families facing hardship (excluding health insurance or Social Security benefits), make up about 7% of the federal budget.

The point is millions of Americans rely on these programs.

Are some committing fraud and receive undeserved benefits?

Sure they are from, seniors on Medicare to healthcare providers receiving payment and people who misrepresent their eligibility for benefits and perhaps a handful of lazy loafers who just try to live off the system.

And yes, since most of these programs involve the federal and state governments and eligibility varies by state, there is no doubt mismanagement.

But none of that leads to eliminating the programs or cutting those who need them. It means ongoing audits, corrective action, better systems and strong deterrents for those who abuse the programs.

Actually our bigger problem is growing debt and the interest payments that go with it.

According to various sources:

• The U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data reports that 14% of federal spending in FY 2024 was for net interest.
• Other reports indicate that net interest costs totaled $881 billion in FY 2024, surpassing spending on Medicare and national defense.
• The Independent Institute noted that 23% of the money the U.S. government collected in FY 2024 was used to make gross interest payments.