How much of the US budget goes to welfare? Plz read 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.

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

Clinton abolished the program you are thinking of, Aid to Families with Dependent Children.  What is left is a patchwork of grants to states with severe restrictions on how long people are eligible.

Answer 2

considering all the screeching about welfare by the conervatives you would think it was every dime but it is not much.

The President's actual budget for 2007 totals $2.8 trillion. Percentages in parentheses indicate percentage change compared to 2006. This budget request is broken down by the following expenditures:

$586.1 billion (+7.0%) - Social Security

$548.8 billion (+9.0%) - Defense[2]

$394.5 billion (+12.4%) - Medicare

$294.0 billion (+2.0%) - Unemployment and welfare

$276.4 billion (+2.9%) - Medicaid and other health related

$243.7 billion (+13.4%) - Interest on debt

$89.9 billion (+1.3%) - Education and training

$76.9 billion (+8.1%) - Transportation

$72.6 billion (+5.8%) - Veterans' benefits

$43.5 billion (+9.2%) - Administration of justice

$33.1 billion (+5.7%) - Natural resources and environment

$32.5 billion (+15.4%) - Foreign affairs

$27.0 billion (+3.7%) - Agriculture

$26.8 billion (+28.7%) - Community and regional development

$25.0 billion (+4.0%) - Science and technology

$23.5 billion (+0.8%) - Energy

$20.1 billion (+11.4%) - General government