Report: U.S. Has Spent $3.7 Trillion on Welfare Since Obama's Election by Emily Hulsey

Republicans have released research showing that since 2009, the U.S. has spent about $3.7 trillion on welfare. As you can see by this chart, that’s nearly five times greater than transportation, education, and NASA spending combined:

The $3.7 trillion price tag includes more than 80 means-tested welfare programs. Means-tested programs are granted based on a person’s income levels and, unlike Social Security or Medicare, are not paid into by the recipient.

“The enormous sum spent on means-tested assistance is nearly five times greater than the combined amount spent on NASA, education, and all federal transportation projects over that time. ($3.7 trillion is not even the entire amount spent on federal poverty support, as states contribute more than $200 billion each year to this federal nexus—primarily in the form of free low-income health care.)

To put things into perspective, this chart shows just how out of control welfare spending has gotten over the last few years:

So what does this say about our country? It says a lot of things, but notably, it says that our government’s
current efforts to reduce poverty are not working. And what do you do when your current approach is not working? You try something else.
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