How much of US budget goes to welfare? Additional details**?

Question

In Bush's proposed 2009 budget 644 billion will go to SS and 408 billion will go to medicare. My question is not about that spending, but about actual welfare.

$360 billion is budgeted for "unemployment, welfare, other spending." That includes pell grants for college, school lunch programs, and even SOME veterans care. How much of this $360 billion is honest to god welfare? As in poor single parent gets a check in the mail for being a poor single parent, unemployment, WIC, etc.

I'm not trying to start an ideological argument; I am just curious and I can't find any good sources. If you have a source, please share. Thanks!

Answer 1

TANF which is the program that sends checks to poor single mothers is .63% of the federal budget or about 18 billion dollars in 2007.  

http://nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/cr...

Medicaid  cost 338 billion with 57% paid  by the federal government ( about 200 billion) and the rest by the states. It covers 53 million people for health care cost.

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?art...

Answer 2

welfare is less than 1% of the budget and all assistance programs put together (everything you mentioned and more) is only about 5%.  I dont have the source, but I saw it from a reputable source somewhere.  so I am not sure why everyone complains so much.  a nickel per dollar to relieve suffering and prevent unneccessary crime, seriously not much.