Clearly not sustainable. This is from the Census Bureau's latest data on 2011.
109 million Americans are getting some form of means tested (welfare) government benefit. This does not include Medicare, Social Security or Unemployment. It does include:
- 82,457,000 people in households receiving Medicaid,
- 49,073,000 beneficiaries of food stamps,
- 20,223,000 on Supplemental Security Income,
- 23,228,000 in the Women, Infants and Children program,
- 13,433,000 in public or subsidized rental housing,
- 5,854,000 in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and
- People getting free or reduced-price lunch or breakfast, state-administered supplemental security income and means-tested veterans pensions.
