Entitlements Offer America’s Poor a Raw Deal

Social Security and Medicare, the two most established and popular parts of the American welfare state, are increasingly stacked in favor of the already well-off, according to NBER paper from some of America’s leading economists. That’s because the rich have experienced large life expectancy gains over the last few decades, meaning they are eligible for the programs for a longer and longer period of time. Meanwhile, life expectancies at the bottom of the income distribution have stagnated. An excerpt: