Think of it this way: Federal welfare and entitlement reform that lowers the welfare consumed by the hypothetical native-born American above from $1,500 to $200 a month would be a monumental achievement. Scholars would write books, academic papers, and a million blog posts and news stories about it. American taxpayers would save money, and the scale of welfare in this country would shrink to a level so low that European stereotypes about American state stinginess would start to match reality. But you’d never know it happened if you relied on Camarota’s method of measurement.

TAX. WEALTH. OUT. OF. EXISTENCE!