<p>
[quote]
An earlier poster mentioned that a lot of the federal budget covers nondiscretionary categories. That is true, but relatively little of that involves funding for the poor. Everyone who has had a paycheck contributes to and gets Social Security and the amount received goes up with the working income. And everyone over 65 gets Medicare. While Medicaid is a program for the poor, it is a relatively small program in the context of the overall federal budget. The bulk of dollars in the "other" mandatory programs fund programs for retirees, while smaller pots of money going to a variety of programs such as unemployment insurance, student loans, and food stamps. </p>
<p>Therefore, the idea that federal taxes primarily take from the rich and give to the poor is just not accurate.</p>
<p>Facts matter, right?
[/quote]
Who said that?</p>
<p>And what are we defining as poor?</p>