"Welfare’s last stand"

Long in retreat in the US, the welfare state found a haven in an unlikely place – the military, where it thrived for decades

Jennifer Mittelstadtis a political historian of the United States and an associate professor at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Her latest book is The Rise of the Military Welfare State (2015).

https://aeon.co/essays/how-the-us-military-became-a-welfare-state

"The military welfare state is hidden in plain sight, its welfare function camouflaged by its war-making auspices. Only the richest Americans could hope to access a more systematic welfare network. Military social welfare features a web of near-universal coverage for soldiers and their families – housing, healthcare, childcare, family counselling, legal assistance, education benefits, and more. The programmes constitute a multi-billion-dollar-per-year safety net, at times accounting for nearly 50 per cent of the Department of Defense budget (DoD). Their real costs spread over several divisions of the defence budget creating a system so vast that the DoD acknowledged it could not accurately reckon its total expense."

"Welfare vs. Defense, By the Numbers" 

[Kid yourselves if you want - these are all welfare numbers, "Welfare" + "DoD" is ALL welfare.  One is a "gentle" welfare to keep people alive, the other is a murderous welfare designed to kill for the pretend purpose of keeping Americans alive.]

By Kevin D. Williamson About Kevin D. Williamson
October 9, 2015

 https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/welfare-vs-defense-numbers-kevin-d-williamson/