Random chart - means-tested programs

Source: Growth in Means-Tested Programs and Tax Credits for Low-Income Households

Per the CBO: "The federal government devotes roughly one-sixth of its spending to 10 major means-tested programs and tax credits, which provide cash payments or assistance in obtaining health care, food, housing, or education to people with relatively low income or few assets..." 

"... in 2012, federal spending on those programs and tax credits totaled $588 billion..."

"... Total federal spending on those 10 programs (adjusted to exclude the effects of inflation) rose more than tenfold—or by an average of about 6 percent a year—in the four decades since 1972 (when only half of the programs existed). As a share of the economy, federal spending on those programs grew from 1 percent to almost 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over that period..."

"... Increases in spending per participant resulted mainly from two factors:

• Growth in the cost of providing assistance (such as rising costs for medical care), and
• Actions by lawmakers to provide more generous benefits (such as increases in SNAP benefits)"