Trends in Welfare Spending.

Washington's expenditures for welfare programs have been less generous than commonly believed.

True, measured in current dollars spending appears to have soared.

• Look, for example, at the number of recipients

• Alternatively, look at AFDC expenditures over the last three decades.

• These sorts of figures convince many Americans, especially those calling themselves conservatives, that the "welfare system is broken" and needs to be replace. Even President Clinton on numerous occasions has made this argument.

But examine so-called real or constant dollar expenditures compared to "current" dollars.

• AFDC payments in constant dollars.

• Moreover, AFDC payments as