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TimS comments on [LINK] How rational is the US federal state - Less Wrong
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Pells grants, food safety inspections, basic research, and a functioning judiciary are not part of the "safety net." Benefit for those below the poverty line is not the primary purpose of those types of programs. Because the programs are (putatively) justified even without reference to poverty reduction, no one should rationally think "the point of this spending is to help those in genuine poverty."
Gwern and I had a parallel discussion here.
Frequently that's exactly how things like Pell Grants are sold, however; as help for the poverty-stricken. A lot of people are considerably less supportive of the idea of their tax dollars paying for other people's children's college educations when those other people aren't any worse off than they are when their children aren't getting those benefits.
The opening description of the Pell Grant from the grant's own web page:
"The Federal Pell Grant Program provides need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain postbaccalaureate students to promote access to postsecondary education."