Biden’s welfare ‘discounts’ keep Americans ‘stuck’ in ‘government subsidy forever,’ researcher warns

After writing a scathing report looking at how the Biden administration is failing to help Americans become financially stable, Heritage Foundation researcher EJ Antoni expanded on how today’s wellness programs hit the poor

“It’s amazing how so many of these programs, which were originally sold to the American people not as handouts to the rich and even the upper middle class, but as a handout to the poor, are now doing the exact opposite,” Antoni said. he said in “Fox business tonight” Monday.

“They’re not helping people with little or no income, they’re helping people with high incomes,” he continued. “For example, you can make over half a million dollars in many parts of the country and still get these ObamaCare grants.”

According to a co-author of a New York Post analysis, a New Jersey family of four can receive benefits equivalent to an annual income of more than $108,000 with no one working. In Connecticut, families earning up to $300,000 per year are eligible to receive ObamaCare subsidies.

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The monetary incentive to stay at home, Antoni said, could be contributing to a nationwide worker shortage, which explains why certain industries are reporting difficulties getting eligible applicants into the workforce.

Last month, the number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits unexpectedly scored higher, reaching the highest level in three months. Continuing claims, filed by Americans receiving consecutive unemployment benefits, rose slightly to 1.55 million for the week ending Nov. 12, 48,000 more than the previous week’s revised level. A year ago, almost 2.28 million Americans received unemployment benefits.

And more data has shown that unemployment benefits are contributing to the relatively low rate of labor force participation: Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies in 14 states, according to According to a new study by the non-profit Committee to Unleash Prosperity, for a family of four with two people not working equals one annualized equivalent of $80,000 a year in wages and benefits.

“We only looked at two programs in this study, but for many people, when you want to get into the means-tested programs, you’re eligible for a lot of benefits. As just one example, you can get rental assistance in Loudon County, one of bedroom communities here in the Washington, DC, area of ​​over $25,000 a year,” Antoni said.

Current tax policies have made it “very easy” for Americans to “get on the dole” and remain “stuck” there, the research expert added.

“For many people, especially if you’re a single parent with children, you find yourself in the situation where as soon as you earn even a small amount of income, all of those proven benefits are taken away. And so for many people, it’s better than stay forever on the government subsidy,” said Antoni.

The Heritage Foundation scholar reminded Americans that the politicians who serve them operate on incentives.

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“For them, the incentive is to be re-elected,” Antoni said. “And as long as we tie that re-election incentive to every handout they can give to the people, this country will continue to go in the wrong direction.”

A Wall Street Journal poll recently confirmed that Americans are expecting a worsening of the economy in the new year, with around two-thirds of those polled saying the trajectory of the economy is headed in the wrong direction.

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Megan Henney and Paul Best of FOX Business contributed to this report.