Originally created to prevent senior poverty and offer a basic safety net, the entitlement system has expanded to provide extensive assistance across the income scale, with 60% of recipients nowhere near the poverty line, and $700 billion a year allocated to the top 50% of households; meanwhile programs like Social Security and Medicare supply generous lifetime benefits, such that a typical couple can expect to receive $1 million in payments. This substantial mission creep indicates the system's imbalance from its founding principles and a need to refocus spending on the core goals of old-age support and poverty relief.

Be sure to visit The Hoover Institution at https://www.hoover.org/ and PolicyEd at https://www.policyed.org/

Check out more from John Cogan:

Watch "Factors that Promote Economic Prosperty" with John Cogan. Available here:
https://www.policyed.org/policy-brief...

Watch "The Negative Effects of High Taxes" with John Cogan. Available here:
https://www.policyed.org/policy-brief...