If more people are in poverty today we are wasting this money. Nothing is changing. Welfare spending has grown substantially over the past four years, reaching $746 billion in 2011 â or more than Social Security, basic defense spending or any other single chunk of the federal governmentâ according to a new memo by the Congressional Research Service. The steady rise in welfare spending, which covers more than 80 programs primarily designed to help low-income Americans, got a big boost from the 2009 stimulus and has grown, albeit somewhat more slowly, in 2010 and 2011. One reason is that more people are qualifying in the weak economy, but the federal government also has broadened eligibility so that more people qualify for programs. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/18/welfare-spending-jumps-32-percent-four-years/