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Helping those in need

For many of us, thoughts turn at this time of the year to the less fortunate. We hope and pray they, too, will have a merry Christmas. Often, we dig into our own pockets to help make that happen.

But how well do we help them during the rest of the year? Or, rather, how well do our state and federal governments deal with their needs?

Here are the details:

• An estimated 45.3 percent of American households pay no income taxes. That’s a major break for tens of millions of people. Bear in mind a substantial number of those whose incomes aren’t taxed are retired and living on Social Security. They paid taxes before retiring.

• Some people actually get money back from the Internal Revenue Service, instead of paying taxes, through the Earned Income Tax Credit. About 26 million families received the credit in 2015. The average check, for a family with children, was $3,186. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have similar credits. The program is aimed at helping working families with low to moderate incomes.

• About 21 percent of Americans received some “major means-tested assistance” from the government five years ago, the Census Bureau reported. Add family members who benefit from such assistance and the number goes up to about 33 percent. Means-tested means the programs are aimed at lower-income individuals and families. The number is actually far higher than that, however, if one looks at individual programs.

• Other numbers from the Census indicate 49 million people receive food stamps (now called the SNAP program), 23.2 million participate in the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program and 13.4 million live in public or federally subsidized housing. Obviously, there is some crossover in these initiatives.

• Nearly one-fourth of the people in our country have health insurance paid for entirely by state and federal governments, through the Medicaid and CHIP programs (CHIP is for children). The total is 73.1 million people.

• Another 10.5 million to 11 million people receive government subsidies helping them pay for health insurance, through the Obamacare program.

• About 46.4 million people are in the Medicare program, covering most health insurance for people over 65 years of age. Part of the cost is covered by many beneficiaries through payroll deductions while they’re working.

• Add all the health insurance programs up, and you have a total of around 129 million people, about 40 percent of the population, who rely partially or fully on the government for health insurance.

• A bit more than 50 million Americans collect Social Security old-age benefits, for which they paid part of the cost. Another 20.2 million collect Supplemental Security Income because they are unable to work.

• About 3.1 million people in this country receive veterans’ benefits (for which, in my humble opinion, they paid fully).

Normally, this is a column about politics. Some of the numbers above are used by politicians for various purposes. Some want to boast about how many people the government helps. Others want to worry working people about how many other folks they’re supporting (note that many of those receiving assistance or tax credts do work).

Politics isn’t why I dug out the numbers, however.

This is a time of year when, if you have anything resembling a heart, you give thanks for what you have and pray for those who don’t have much.

If you’re living as Christ recommended, you do something to help out. Perhaps you buy a few toys for poor children. Maybe you drop a few bucks into the Salvation Army kettle. You wish you could do more.

As a nation, we do more throughout the year with our tax dollars.

Do some people milk or even defraud the system? Of course they do.

But it’s the Christmas season. Let’s keep in our minds instead the tens of millions of men, women and children — our fellow Americas — who really do need help and get it.

Mike Myer is the executive editor at the Wheeling Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register. Myer can be reached at mmyer@theintelligencer.net.

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