Income Matters in Voters’ Choices

In a Wall Street Journal column, Phil Gramm and Mike Solon ask whether the recent rapid expansion of the welfare state has altered the “old metrics” for assessing how the economy affects elections.

Specifically, they raise three pointed questions:
Do the tens of millions of Americans who use one or more of the 80 federal welfare programs “feel the same level of discontent about economic conditions as the rest of the voting population?”
“To what extent might these benefits not just foster dependency but also make the economy’s performance seem less of a deciding factor in voters’ choices?”
And, finally, “If you are concerned about your well-being and worried about a failed recovery — but getting new help from the government — do you vote for the candidate who promises more jobs or do you support the candidate who promises more government benefits?”
Excellent questions, all. But, before delving into them, let’s set the table with a few facts.
First, we should recognize that the War on Poverty is now a huge budget item. According to calculations by the Congressional Research Service and the Senate Budget Committee, taxpayers coughed up over $1 trillion in federal and state-provided benefits in 2011. These benefits flow to tens of millions of voters and cover the waterfront, offering low-income Americans everything from cash assistance to food, housing, and medical care, not to mention help with education, transportation, home-heating costs, and child care. Spending on these programs has soared more than 40 percent since 2007. That’s an unsustainable trajectory.

Read more: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/331549/income-matters-voters-choices-michael-g-franc