330— Public Opinion and Policy Regarding Welfare in the United States

Government spending on social programs is perhaps the most widely debated platform topic in American politics. The American two party system has produced two distinctive camps, defined most obviously by liberal Democrats and Democratic Socialists on one side, and conservative Republicans on the other. The former argues that government should play a stronger role in securing wealth for the lower class than it currently does via social safety nets provided by taxes on richer individuals. The latter claims that the current American welfare state is either doing enough or too much in its legal role to redistribute funds to lower class individuals/households. While these assertions may be accurate, they are extremely broad and do not properly explain the status of our welfare state or how it has attained its current form. In this analysis, I will look at data and historical trends regarding the US budget, public opinion on its own welfare/ social spending, specific programs, and any legislation, movements, or events that are relevant to the current status of our welfare state. I predict that public opinion regarding the social spending programs of the US government have had an effect on actual legislation and budgets passed by congress.