Townhall
Great: More Americans on Welfare Than Working Full Time
by Christine Rousselle
Oct 25, 2013 

A new report from the Census Bureau showed a total of 108,592,000 people were on some sort of means-tested government benefits program in the fourth quarter of 2011, yet only 101,716,000 people were employed full-time for the entire year. 

A individual counted as a beneficiary of a means-tested program if they resided in a household where someone received benefits. 

Means-tested benefits programs are the second-largest category of government spending. The government spends more on these programs than public education and defense spending. From a Heritage Foundation report: 

The 69 means-tested programs operated by the federal government provide a wide variety of benefits. They include: 

12 programs providing food aid; 

10 housing assistance programs; 

10 programs funding social services; 

9 educational assistance programs; 

8 programs providing cash assistance; 

8 vocational training programs; 

7 medical assistance programs; 

3 energy and utility assistance programs; and, 

2 child care and child development programs. 

Programs such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, workers compensation, and veterans benefits are not considered to be "means tested," so recipients of those benefits are not included in the 108,592,000 figure. 

Clearly, this is a huge problem. A country cannot survive if its citizens are not willing or able to work. In 35 states welfare pays better than an actual job. This is what we call an "incentive"--and the U.S. is incentivizing people to not work. Why would a person actually get a job if they could be paid more to stay home? In Pennsylvania, a single women with children working a job that pays $29,000 a year actually receives $57,345 in total income when benefits are factored in. Conversely, if the woman were to work a job that paid $69,000 a year, her net pay after taxes is only $57,045. 

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