According to HHS, 23.1% of Americans are currently receiving benefits from one of three major welfare programs; Temporary Assistance to Needy Families

According to HHS, 23.1% of Americans are currently receiving benefits from one of three major welfare programs; Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (formerly Aid to Families With Dependent Children), Supplemental Security Income, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or food stamps). That number is from 2011, the latest date from which data has been compiled.
CNS News:
By this measure, according to the report, 23.1 percent of Americans were recipients of welfare in 2011. Since 1993, the earliest year covered by the report, that is the highest percentage of Americans reported to be receiving welfare.
A startling 38 percent of all children 5 and under in the United States were welfare recipients in 2011, according to the report.
HHS’s count of “welfare” recipients differs somewhat from data published by the Census Bureau

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