Welfare At A Glance

I don't know exactly what year these figures were compiled. I believe they are taken from the 2000 census. Since we don't know the exact date used. We'll just look at the numbers provided. We know we now have considerably more Hispanics, than we did then. In 2006 they have surpassed Blacks as the majority minority. In the coming year. They're expected to lose the spending crown as well. Blacks accounted for 37 percent of the nation's welfare caseload, though they are just 13 percent of the general population. Hispanic families accounted for 22 percent of the welfare rolls, though they are 11 percent of the general population.

Whites, by contrast, accounted for just 35 percent of the rolls, though they are 73 percent of the population. That is the smallest white percentage since the Government began compiling figures in 1973. The vast majority receiving Federal aid are single mothers and their children.

In the past, advocates and scholars have taken pains to note there were more white families on welfare than black. But that is no longer the case.

Blacks now outnumber whites. The Hispanic share of the rolls is growing fastest. And black and Hispanic recipients combined outnumber whites by about 2 to 1. In addition, the remaining caseload is increasingly concentrated in large cities.

Some analysts warn that the growing racial and urban imbalance could erode political support for welfare, especially when times turn tight. More immediately, the changing demographics suggest that states may need new strategies as they serve those left behind, like recipients who do not speak English.

Consider the changing nature of the New York City caseload, which is larger than that of every state but California. Since the city's rolls peaked in March 1995, the number of whites on welfare has fallen 57 percent. That is nearly twice the 30 percent rate of decline for blacks. And it is nearly eight times the decline for Hispanic recipients, which is just 7 percent, lagging the declines for blacks and whites as it has nationwide. The city's welfare rolls are now 5 percent white, 33 percent black and 59 percent Hispanic.