When the Safety Net Pays for Itself A new study finds government programs for adults often lead to more government spending, but programs for low-income children return taxpayer dollars over time
The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2019
The U.S. spends trillions every year on a social safety net for
people in all steps of life, from childhood to retirement.
A new study from two Harvard University economists, Nathaniel
Hendren and Ben Sprung-Keyser, examines 133 U.S. policy
changes over the past half-century, including the creation
of Medicare, Medicaid expansions, the introduction of food
stamps, as well as dozens of state and local programs.
Their paper, released Monday, identifies which policies
ultimately made the government money, generally in the form of
beneficiaries who needed less assistance over time or who became
more productive and paid more taxes.
