" in 1979, households in the bottom quintile received more than 50 percent of transfer payments
. In 2007, similar households received about 35 percent of transfers.
That shift reflects the growth in spending for programs focused on the elderly population (such as Social Security and unemployment compensation), in which benefits are not limited to low-income households.
the equalizing effect of federal taxes was smaller.
Over the 1979–2007 period, the overall average federal tax rate fell by a small amount,
the composition of federal revenues shifted away from progressive income taxes
to less-progressive payroll taxes, ."
