People wait in line to enter the Northern Brooklyn Food Stamp and DeKalb Job Center, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 in New York. The state of the nation's economy is a dominant issue in this presidential election year. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/267546.htmlNew figures show a dramatic hike in welfare spending in the United States over the last four years.
Based on a study conducted by Congressional Research Service and the Senate Budget Committee, welfare spending reached $746 billion in 2011, growing over 30 percent during the Obama presidency.
The report was requested by Senator Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. Townhall.com
HIGHLIGHTS
Federal spending on more than 80 low-income assistance programs reached $746 billion in 2011, and state spending on those programs brought the total to $1.03 trillion, according to figures from the study. Washington Post
That makes welfare the single biggest chunk of federal spending - topping Social Security and basic defense spending. Washington Post
Welfare spending as measured by obligations stood at $563 billion in fiscal year 2008, but reached $746 billion in fiscal year 2011, a jump of 32 percent. Washington Post
What’s also shocking to find is that Medicaid, which is only one of several programs under the welfare umbrella, accounts for $296 billion of that federal spending. That’s 40% of total spending on low-income assistance; back in 2008 that number was only $82 billion. Townhall.com
FACTS & FIGURES
The cost of living in the U.S. rose in September for a second month, reflecting a jump in energy expenses that failed to trickle through to other goods and services. Business Week
The consumer-price index increased 0.6 percent for a second month, the Labor Department reported in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 0.5 percent advance. The so-called core measure, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, climbed 0.1 percent, less than projected. Business Week
Meanwhile, more Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, reflecting an unwinding of adjustments for seasonal swings at the start of a quarter. Bloomberg
Jobless claims increased by 46,000 to 388,000 in the week ended Oct. 13 from a revised 342,000 the prior period that was the lowest since February 2008, Labor Department figures showed. Bloomberg
The overall pace of the recovery of the U.S. economy will remain too slow in 2013 to make a dent in the unemployment rate, according to a National Association for Business Economics survey released Monday. Market Watch
Professional forecasters expect economic output to grow just 1.9% during the last part of 2012, rising steadily to 3% in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the survey by the association for professional economists. That is a slight downgrade from the pace of growth expected in the group's May 2012 survey, when economists forecast 3.1% growth by the end of next year. Market Watch
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