"Households in the top 20 percent of the income distribution spend 11.6 percent of total expenditures on food and energy, which adds up to 7.9 percent of disposable income. For the bottom 20 percent these shares rise to 20.4 percent of expenditures and a whopping 44.1 percent of after-tax income!"
these are recent US numbers but ...
the point ??
for the bottom 20%
the transfer system is critical
consider this
approximately 20% of E = 45% of D I *
right ??
do the math
---* " percent of after tax income " = DI ---
without these elastiic contingent earned income triggered transfer payment mechanisms
dropping into the bottom 20
would feel like a belly flop into a pool ...from 15 feet up
