In Response to Re: Republicans Will Try To Cut Our Social Security and Medicare Benefits Next : NONSENSE !!!    In general, social welfare programs DID  account for a small amount of the national budget.    AFDC [the program prior to TANF]   says these programs were  less than 1% of the federal budget and, on average, no more than 2% of each state's fund.   That's NOTHING compared to the CORPORATE WELFARE and WELFARE to the individual-rich who are the real takers in our society.   After 2001 however, CBS did a program on the homeless when the country slowly slid into recession.     American families had been falling out of the middle class in record numbers.      The combination of lost jobs and millions of foreclosures meant a lot of folks are still homeless and hungry for the first time in their lives.        When Congress decides on the 2013 budget, will they decide to save lives, or will they let millions of people die of preventable causes because of devastating budget cuts? America's fiscal problems are a direct result of the Billionaire Class working behind the scenes of our democracy and syphoning off massive amounts of wealth for themselves while paying lower taxes than they've paid in a half-century. Poverty isn't because of a lack of character ...its a lack of money due to a lack of opportunity due to a lack of investment .   
Posted by JANMB