Accompanying this post, is a map showing county-level data illustrating per capita income from government programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, and unemployment insurance. The interactive map allows you see not only geographic patterns but also change over time. The maps present data from the years 1969, 1979, 1989, 1999, and 2009. What you don’t see included on this map are things such as farm and/or timber subsidies.
Check out your own county. You won’t be able to resist comparing it to neighboring areas and viewing the amount of change over the years. Trying to explain these patterns is at the heart of geography.
Link to interactive map:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/02/12/us/entitlement-map.html?ref=us
