Safety Net Programs
This webpage covers poverty in America and the Safety Net programs of the Federal Government that fight it. The programs could also be referred to as antipoverty or welfare programs.
Hidden EntitlementThe Safety Net to fight poverty is not a single program nor is it run by one agency of the Federal Government. It has to be aggregated and that is the purpose of this webpage. Included are federal programs with the sole pupose of aiding low-income Americans. As an example, food stamps are included but food inspection programs are not. More
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Poverty Gap
$190 Billion = the cost to move all Americans out of poverty (poverty Gap).
$361 Billion = what we spent on 13 U.S. Welfare Programs Why did we spend so much? What did we get for that? More |
Federal Safety Net Programs and Their Cost in Billions
The following programs target low-income individuals and families
Fiscal Year 2014 2015
Negative Income tax- Earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit $ 82 $ 81
Cash is paid to working families who pay no income tax.
SNAP - Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program 76 76
Formally food stamp program. Debit cards are distributed to the poor to buy food.
Housing Assistance - HUD housing programs 48 48
Includes rent vouchers, public housing and community development programs.
SSI - Supplemental Security Income 55 56
Cash is paid to disabled, blind or seniors over 65 years of age.
Pell Grants 33 32
Grants are made to students to help pay for college tuition, room and board.
TANF - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 16 16
Cash is paid to support low-income families and move them from welfare to work.
Child Nutrition 20 21
School lunch, breakfast and after school food programs.
Head Start - Preschool program 9 10
Job Training - Various programs & employment support for adults, youth and seniors. 6 6
WIC - Women, Infants and Children 6 6 High protein food for pregnant women and children up to five years old.
Child Care - Child care and after school programs 5 5
LIHEAP - Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program 3 3
Aid for heating or cooling a residential dwelling.
Lifeline (Obama Phone) - Phone subsidy including cell phones 2 2
Total costs from 13 Welfare Programs 361 362
Medicaid - Health care for low-income Americans 301 350
Total Federal Welfare costs $ 662 $ 712
Negative Income tax- Earned income tax credit (EITC) and child tax credit $ 82 $ 81
Cash is paid to working families who pay no income tax.
SNAP - Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program 76 76
Formally food stamp program. Debit cards are distributed to the poor to buy food.
Housing Assistance - HUD housing programs 48 48
Includes rent vouchers, public housing and community development programs.
SSI - Supplemental Security Income 55 56
Cash is paid to disabled, blind or seniors over 65 years of age.
Pell Grants 33 32
Grants are made to students to help pay for college tuition, room and board.
TANF - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 16 16
Cash is paid to support low-income families and move them from welfare to work.
Child Nutrition 20 21
School lunch, breakfast and after school food programs.
Head Start - Preschool program 9 10
Job Training - Various programs & employment support for adults, youth and seniors. 6 6
WIC - Women, Infants and Children 6 6 High protein food for pregnant women and children up to five years old.
Child Care - Child care and after school programs 5 5
LIHEAP - Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program 3 3
Aid for heating or cooling a residential dwelling.
Lifeline (Obama Phone) - Phone subsidy including cell phones 2 2
Total costs from 13 Welfare Programs 361 362
Medicaid - Health care for low-income Americans 301 350
Total Federal Welfare costs $ 662 $ 712
State and local governments spent an additional $147 billion on antipoverty programs in 2015; $54 billion on welfare programs and $93 billion on Medicaid. Including state and local expenditures we spent $858 billion fighting poverty in 2015. More
Makeup of the Safety Net
The Federal Safety Net is made up of a complex array of programs. They are generally independent of each other and attack a single aspect of poverty such as food or rent. Each has specific regulations, goals and benefits to try and help the poor. They are each administered by large government agencies with thousands of federal employees. Taken as a whole they represent a challenging matrix for the poor to use and for the American taxpayer to understand.
Income Qualification.
Each of the federal programs has its own income qualification standards for participation. Income must be below: EITC – $13,460 for individual, $35,535 for a family with one child. SNAP – 130% of poverty threshold. Housing Assistance – 50% of median income in a local area (50% of median income totaled $24,888 for the U.S. as a whole). SSI – $17,196 for an individual and $25,284 for a couple. Pell Grants – $50,000+ in family or student income, most awards under $30,000 TANF – Unique by state but generally 50% - 100% of poverty threshold. Child Nutrition – 130% of poverty threshold, partial benefit below 185% of threshold Head Start, Child Care, Job Training – Unique by state and program. WIC – 185% of poverty threshold. LIHEAP – 150% of poverty threshold or 60% of state median income. Lifeline (Obama Phone) - 135% of poverty threshold or participation in numerous other programs. Because the federal programs aren’t consistent, neither is our treatment of low-income Americans. Some get more benefits than others. Federal Program Administration
The 13 welfare programs are managed by 8 federal agencies as follows: United States Department of Agriculture - SNAP, Child Nutrition, WIC Social Security Administration - SSI Internal Revenue Service - Negative Income Tax Department of Housing and Urban Development - Housing Assistence U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - TANF, Head Start, Child Care and LIHEAP Department of Education - Pell Grants Department of Labor - Job Training Federal Communications Commission - Lifeline Ideas For Cost Savings
We could revamp the system, lower costs by a third, save over $100 billion per year and still protect the poorest Americans. Here is how. |
How does the Government Measure Poverty?Annual household income below these levels was considered below the poverty threshold in 2014:
Single person household - $12,071 Two person Household - $15,379 Three person household - $18,850 Four person household - $24,230 More Poverty and Spending Over the Years
The United States has dramatically increased federal spending fighting poverty over the last 50 years - from $421 to $14,194 per person in poverty. That’s $56,774 for a family of four. Yet despite this spending the poverty level has remained fairly constant at between 12% – 15% of the population. Why has so much spending not lowered the percentage of the population in poverty?
More Resource Qualification
The federal programs generally include a “Resource” test for qualification. Resource generally means cash savings or investment in stocks or bonds but excludes investment in a home or a car.
SNAP – Resource can't exceed $2,000 or $3000 if someone in the household is over 60 years old. SSI – Resource can't exceed $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. EITC – Investment Income can’t exceed $3,100 for an individual or family. Pell Grants – Resource value is taken into account to calculate family contribution. TANF – Unique by state. Housing Assistance – Taken into account in the application. Public Opinion
Welfare Reform
The following improvements could be made if we revamped the entire system:
1. Get more cash to the poorest Americans. 2. Simplify and make the system fairer. 3. Better design the system to move the poor into independent lives. Here is how |