The Census and the Welfare State

Federal grants are announced with tremendous fanfare. The distributing federal agency issues a press release announcing that the city has received a grant of several million dollars to build, say, its new recreation center. The congressman for that district humbly takes credit for the grant. Area newspapers publish editorials extolling local officials for their genius is securing the grant and effusively praising the effectiveness of their congressman. 

In the process, most everyone forgets where the money originally came from, or they simply don’t care. All that people focus on is that they’re receiving free money that is coming from the federal government, the all-good, all-caring, all-compassionate entity whose job it is to take care of the citizenry. 

The bait-and-switch tactics of taxation and redistribution continue to placate the citizenry.