Though I think the real welfare bill is higher than $500 billion.
Was the share of interest on the debt counted, for example?
Then there are the economic costs associated with that money not being put to more productive use - jobs, economic growth foregone.
Freepers need to see more of this. 99.999999999999% of the public have no idea what the Federal budget is like. Most think foreign aid and defense are the biggest expenditures.
It's not. It's welfare.