Income redistribution is government action to transfer money and/or goods and SERVICES from some groups in a society to others. Income redistribution involves the transfer of money payments or goods and services with no requirement or expectation of exchange of RESOURCES or services by the recipients. In the United States, major income-redistribution programs include transfer-payment systems such as WELFARE, SOCIAL SECURITY, and UNEMPLOYMENT benefits; and transfer-in-kind programs such as food stamps, public housing, and medical care. Compared with most industrialized countries in the world, U.S. incomeredistribution programs are quite modest, but they are a controversial part of U.S. public policy. At the beginning of the 21st century, the fastest-growing income-redistribution programs in the United States were Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare subsidizes medical care for the elderly, while Medicaid provides health-care services for poorer Americans. However, the largest incomeredistribution program in the United States is Social Security. When it was created, Social Security was intended to be a modest income INSURANCE program, by which workers paid into the program and later received benefits based on their contributions. Because of growth in the U.S. economy after World War II, there soon were many more workers relative to beneficiaries, creating surpluses in the program. Congress then expanded the benefits and programs under Social Security well beyond its initial objective, and as a result, most retired Americans now get all they paid into Social Security plus interest within 3–4 years. Though most American retirees don’t like the word, they are actually receiving welfare. Today Social Security is an intergenerational incometransfer program, with current retirees being given money payments from current workers. Some analysts compare this system to a PONZI SCHEME, in which initial investors are paid with the funds collected from subsequent investors. The system works as long as there are new contributors to the system. With the ratio of retirees to workers increasing in the United States, officials anticipate problems with the Social Security program.