About FSNThe purpose of this website is to aggregate and summarize pertinent information on U.S.poverty and the welfare programs of the federal government. The website is generated and run by Bob Pfeiffer, a CPA and entrepreneur who became frustrated as he tried to understand poverty in the U.S. and the federal programs, their cost and effectiveness. The goal of the website is to educate the public and push for meaningful change.Research and Data -- The website relies on government, think tank and expert data and reports. All data is footnoted as to its origin. The aim of the website is not to generate new research but to cull the vast amount of research and data into a manageable and understandable analysis. Federal Safety NetFSN_e7c09694-c782-11ea-bc64-ff8df482ea00Robert S. PfeifferFor an accountant the federal budget is the holy grail of budgets. It is the big budget with all the zeros. I was working as a CFO for a small oil and gas company and one day I visited the federal bookstore in downtown Denver. There it was, the 1993 federal budget in all its hefty glory. I couldn’t help myself. I bought it and thus started an unusual accounting hobby of tracking federal spending and trying to understand our government through numbers.Poverty is conquered._e7c097ac-c782-11ea-bc64-ff8df482ea00To aggregate and summarize pertinent information on U.S.poverty and the welfare programs of the federal government._e7c09842-c782-11ea-bc64-ff8df482ea00Social WelfareOne night while looking through the budget I wondered what we spent each year on welfare. It sounded simple enough. I’d merely find the department of welfare and see what it spent. But it doesn’t work that way. Welfare is spread throughout the budget in several agencies. The problem is that the agencies do other things too so finding welfare meant searching, studying and adding it up.
My conclusion was that welfare cost us $170 billion in 1993. My statistical abstract book said there were 35.7 million people in poverty and told me how much additional income they needed to be out of poverty. I did the math and it showed me that we spent twice the amount on welfare that we needed to pull every poor person in America out of poverty.Public ServiceI hope the site is a public service to you and thanks for taking the time to learn more.EducationAn educated citizenry is the first step in winning the war on poverty.EducationEducate the public and push for meaningful change._e7c098c4-c782-11ea-bc64-ff8df482ea00AnalysisCull research and data into a manageable and understandable analysis._e7c09946-c782-11ea-bc64-ff8df482ea002020-07-16OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net