Unintended Consequences of Welfare States

The content of this item is a very important and speaks to the serious negative consequences of welfare states.  It is focused on our nation and what is wrong with the way our government "attempts" to help people with programs popular for those in need but in reality hurts rather than helps them.  A couple of quotes set the stage: "A nation’s prosperity is determined by the quantity and quality of labor and capital that are productively utilized. Which means that it doesn’t make sense to have policies that penalize either saving and investment or working. Yet that seems to be the favorite hobby of the political class."  And, Casey Mulligan, University of Chicago economics professor has this to say: "...the top rate for these families eligible for various federal aid programs went from 40% to 48% in the immediate aftermath of the recession. In other words, for every extra dollar someone eligible for various aid programs makes, they lose 48% from taxes and benefit reductions. …Mulligan says. “The more you help low-income people, the more low-income people you’ll have. The more you help unemployed people, the more unemployed people you’ll have.”  http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/danieljmitchell/2015/04/28/dependency-work-incentives-and-the-growing-welfare-state-n1991212/page/full 

Ample evidence confirms these observations.  See these four items:  https://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/the-war-on-poverty-has-been-a-disaster-for-taxpayers-and-for-poor-people/  and  https://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/thomas-sowell-explains-how-the-welfare-state-hurts-the-poor/    and  https://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/the-hidden-economic-damage-of-obamacare/  and  https://danieljmitchell.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/obamacare-could-cause-two-million-additional-adults-to-leave-labor-force-and-become-trapped-in-government-dependency/ 

George Burns