Welfare for the rich? The federal government even subsidizes high-income households

It's hard to believe that even the rich are receiving some type of welfare from the federal government. This report examines assets in homeownership, entrepreneurship, retirement, savings, and education. Access the full report (2012) at the NewAmerica Foundation:

Savings and assets are the building blocks for economic mobility and security. They provide a buffer against unexpected events as well as a means to move up the economic ladder with productive investments, such as by buying a home, starting a business, saving for retirement, saving for emergencies, or going to college.

Currently, the federal budget allocates a substantial amount of resources to support these priorities. Yet most of the benefits are delivered through tax breaks and subsidies that favor higher-income households. Families with lower incomes and fewer resources receive much less support.

This site describes how families are faring across 5 key policy areas that typically help people accumulate wealth and build assets, identifies the current spending to support these objectives, and suggests how we could do better. Scroll down or click on the links above to jump to a specific chapter.