From the Commonwealth Foundation:
Welfare spending in Pennsylvania is out of control. The Department of Public Welfare is now the largest department in the state. It will continue to crowd out education, environmental protection and public safety if the status quo continues.
1.) Forty cents of every state tax dollar goes to welfare spending.
2.) Welfare spending grew three times faster than the rest of the state budget since FY 2002-03.
3.) The number of Pennsylvanians in poverty increased nearly 50 percent in the last decade.
4.) Welfare spending is projected to grow five times faster than revenue for 2011-14.
5.) In 2001, three Pennsylvanians were working for every individual getting welfare benefits. Today that ratio has dropped to two to one.
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