See 43 People Arrested-Indicted for Drugs Spend Thanksgiving in Jail
By Lewis Loflin
Welfare isn’t exclusive to the poor—it’s a bipartisan mechanism, varying only in its recipients. Republicans steer tax breaks and subsidies to corporations, while Democrats bolster social programs and education, each skewing the economy at taxpayers’ expense. Housing illustrates this starkly: in 2012, The New York Times reported $40 billion annually for low-income aid versus $80 billion for the mortgage interest deduction, with $35 billion aiding households over $200,000. By 2025, these figures, adjusted for inflation, reach $60 billion and $120 billion, with the deduction’s cost since 2010 likely topping $700 billion. It’s welfare, discreetly packaged for the wealthy.
Cutting both could save $180 billion yearly, yet proposals to shift $50 billion to the poor often inflate rents, benefiting landlords. In Southwest Virginia, where drug arrests reflect economic despair, this system offers scant relief to those at the bottom.
This week’s $5 trillion S&P 500 loss, driven by Trump’s tariff shock (Reuters, April 4), isn’t vanishing—it’s shifting, likely to bonds. This paper wealth, bloated in overvalued stocks, offered little tangible value to the working class. As investors flee to Treasuries—yields dropping to 4.05% from 4.20% (Investopedia, April 3)—the move cushions the elite while bypassing workers. X posts note the top 10%, holding 88%-93% of stock wealth, have already pivoted to bonds, leaving younger generations with aggressive 401(k)s exposed as housing values falter.
In Southwest Virginia, where over 60,000 jobs evaporated since 2009, this shift underscores a grim truth: stock gains never trickled down, and their loss won’t either. The working class, locked out of this paper wealth, faces stagnant wages and rising costs instead.
April 5, 2025, news reports highlight an economy engineered for the elite: 88% of stock market wealth accrues to the top 10%, 12% to the next 40%, and zero to the bottom 50%. X posts echo this, citing 88%-93% for the top 10%, with the bottom 50% in debt. The CBO pegs total wealth at 69% for the top 10% and 3%-6% for the bottom 50%, but stock-specific data (Federal Reserve, 2023) shows the top 10% at 93%, bottom 50% at 1%. This week’s crash amplifies this divide, funneling gains—and now losses—upward.
For decades, policy has favored this 10%. In regions like Southwest Virginia, the bottom 50% see no stock windfall—only disability checks or jail time for meth-related crimes, as above. This isn’t economic growth; it’s a wealth siphon.
Student loans are another welfare facade. From $104 billion in 2010-2011, federal lending hit $150 billion by 2025, with taxpayers absorbing risk as lenders and colleges profit. Defaults soar among borrowers unfit for college or chasing low-return degrees. Obama’s 3.8% interest cap cost $6 billion annually; at 4.5% in 2025, it’s $9 billion, saving borrowers $10 monthly. Tuition inflation outpaces wages, burdening the 70% without degrees who subsidize it. Loans should target viable fields, not pad institutional coffers.
Corporate welfare, at $125 billion annually in 2025, dwarfs the $60 billion for low-income housing aid Republicans aim to cut. Texas spends $25 billion yearly, slashing education by $7 million, while boasting 279,000 jobs (2007-2011)—81% to immigrants, half undocumented, per the Center for Immigration Studies. See Lines Blur as Texas Gives Industries a Bonanza. Jobs often relocate, like Hostess’s 18,000 lost union roles, to subsidy-rich, low-wage states like Virginia, frequently for non-citizens.
Both parties rig the system: Republicans for Wall Street, Democrats for education and unions. Deregulation and meddling—like 2008’s crash or 2025’s tariff turmoil—breed instability. Regulation curbs fraud, but overreach distorts markets. In Southwest Virginia, welfare spans corporate handouts and disability, not stock gains or bond shifts for the bottom 50%. Ending subsidies could save billions, but the top 10%, holding 88% of stocks, resist. The economy serves them, leaving the rest in debt or despair.
Welfare isn’t just aid—it’s a machine enriching the powerful, not the people.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
