Strig- Getting land from the govt in that time period cannot be compared to the govt handouts of today. To make that land payoff a person had to do something with it. It was basically worthless without adding your own toil and sweat.
The thing that most caught my attention in this article was the statistic; 1.25 taxpayers paying for 1.0 persons on assistance or govt employees. That is simply not sustainable long term.
It gave people a place to start. Many people on assistance right now have nowhere to start. Min wage jobs and no avenue to job training. The land grants would be more comparable today with the gov giving grants for college and job training programs. It gives people a place to start. Which one party is very much against.
The second number includes all the social security people, which is largely due to the upset population pyramid due to the Baby Boomers. And the 'tax payer' number also only includes income tax citizens. But pretty much the entire population pays all sorts of other taxes.