# Does Welfare reduce Criminality?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-welfare-reduce-criminality/724272>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [July 4, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-welfare-reduce-criminality/724272 "2015-07-04T21:16:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-welfare-reduce-criminality/724272/61 "2015-07-08T19:23:07Z")

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> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#):
>
> The key point there being how it’s defined. So please elaborate.

I think of welfare as means tested assistance from the government. According to that definition Medicaid is welfare and cost 425 billion. SNAP, CHIP, school lunch assitance and other food programs cost 100 billion. Housing assistance costs 77 billion. TANF, EITC, SSI and other cash assistance programs cost 200 billion. Energy assistance costs 6 billion. State governments spend about 200 billion.  
I think of Social Security and Medicare as welfare but since they are not means tested I did not include them.

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**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-welfare-reduce-criminality/724272/62 "2015-07-08T19:51:45Z")

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> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#):
>
> Someone tell me I’m being whooshed, please.

“Find all posts by poster” will show you more of the same flavor.

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**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-welfare-reduce-criminality/724272/63 "2015-07-08T23:18:55Z")

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> [@puddleglum](#):
>
> Correlation does not mean causation.

Which is why I pointed out that poverty is one very important **factor**. And I was aware of the lead item, guess where there was more lead contamination, and it is still a factor today? That is right, poor neighbourhoods where there is less of an effort made to remove lead from houses.

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**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-welfare-reduce-criminality/724272/64 "2015-07-08T23:20:40Z")

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The workhouses were by deliberate design intended to be unpleasant enough to deter the (presumed) hordes of shiftless freeloaders who would otherwise live in idleness. They succeeded in that the poor of London preferred to be hungry and homeless but free rather than go to the workhouses.

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**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-welfare-reduce-criminality/724272/65 "2015-07-09T02:42:35Z")

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> [@GIGObuster](#):
>
> Which is why I pointed out that poverty is one very important **factor**. And I was aware of the lead item, guess where there was more lead contamination, and it is still a factor today? That is right, poor neighbourhoods where there is less of an effort made to remove lead from houses.

Is poverty a factor in crime, or is crime a factor in poverty?

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