It was only a couple of decades ago that aid for the needy, and resentment of that burden by everyone else, seemed to be the biggest issue in public policy. It was an issue that swept the Republicans into control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994. With New York City widely believed to be America’s welfare capital, it helped to make Republican George Pataki Governor of New York State that year, one year after Republican Rudy Giuliani became the Mayor of New York City. This anti-welfare reaction followed by three decades the “welfare rights” revolution, a brief period during which the needs and problems of the poor placed a greater claim on America’s then-growing public resources.
Today, however, public discussion of the needs, problems and costs of the poor seems to have essentially disappeared. So what is being spent on the needy, in New York City and other parts of New York State, when compared with other places today? This post uses Census of Governments data to find out.
Note: this post, based on data from the 2012 Census of Governments, has been superceded by two posts based on data from the 2017 Census of Governments. The new posts should be read instead.
https://larrylittlefield.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/health-care-2017-census-of-governments-data/
https://larrylittlefield.wordpress.com/2020/05/18/aid-to-the-needy-2017-census-of-governments-data/
The older post continues below.
Saying the Unsaid in New York 