Concentrated Poverty

Some have argued that welfare has come to be associated with poverty. Political
scientist Martin Gilens argues that blacks have overwhelmingly dominated images of
poverty over the last few decades and states that "white Americans with the most
exaggerated misunderstandings of the racial composition of the poor are the most likely
to oppose welfare". This perception possibly perpetuates negative racial
stereotypes and could increase Americans' opposition and racialization of welfare
policies.
In FY 2010, African-American families comprised 31.9% of TANF families,
white families comprised 31.8%, and 30.0% were Hispanic. Since the implementation of
TANF, the percentage of Hispanic families has increased, while the percentages of
white and black families have decreased. In FY 1997, African-American families
represented 37.3% of TANF recipient families, white families 34.5%, and Hispanic
families 22.5%.The population as a whole is composed of 63.7% whites, 16.3%
Hispanic, 12.5% African-American, 4.8% Asian and 2.9% other races. TANF programs
at a cost of about $20.0 billion (2013) have decreased in use as Earned Income Tax
Credits, Medicaid grants, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits,
Supplemental Security Income (SSI), child nutrition programs, Children's Health
Insurance Program (CHIP), housing assistance, Feeding Programs (WIC & CSFP),
along with about 70 more programs, have increased to over $700 billion more in 2013.
Costs
The Great Recession made a large impact on welfare spending. In a 2011
article, Forbes reported, "The best estimate of the cost of the 185 federal means tested
welfare programs for 2010 for the federal government alone is $717 billion, up a third
since 2008, according to the Heritage Foundation. Counting state spending of about
$210 billion, total welfare spending for 2010 reached over $920 billion, up nearly onefourth
since 2008 (24.3%)"—and increasing fast.
The previous decade had seen a 60% decrease in the number of people receiving
welfare benefits, beginning with the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Act, but spending did not decrease proportionally during that time period.
Combined annual federal and state spending is the equivalent of over $21,000 for every
person living below poverty level in America.
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