We had mass immigration to the US long before the welfare state. But to quote Milton Friedman, "It's just obvious you can't have free immigration and a welfare state." There is no doubt that welfare is one of the magnets that draws both legal and illegal immigrants. Both groups use welfare to a much greater extent than the native born. Illegal immigrants gain most of their access thru their American born children who are citizens at birth.
There are literally billions of people who would like to come from the Third World to the US and Europe. Having lived in and visited many poor countries, the corruption, grinding poverty, and hopelessness are palpable. Even without access to welfare, they still would want to come just for the opportunity to change their station in life and provide for their families. Technology and modern air travel increase the attraction. And many have family and friends who are already here willing to provide them with a base. The developed world is the lifeboat that everyone wants to board. We can't take in these numbers. We are importing poverty and we are paying a terrible price that will only get worse. Immigrants vote more than two to one Dem. So we continue to bring in 1.1 million LEGAL immigrants a year.
Do you think the "New Deal" welfare state might have been quite the precursor to the "Great Society" socialist state?
Is that a rhetorical question? There is no doubt that FDR's "New Deal" started us down the path towards the welfare state and socialism. Social Security was the foundation. Do you think there is any significant political will to eliminate SS or LBJ's Medicare despite the fact that both programs have been running in the red, Medicare since 2008 and SS since 2010? Both programs enjoy the overwhelming support of the country despite them driving us further and further into bankruptcy.
The chart you presented that compares 1964 to 214 shows the destruction wrought by the adoption of a welfare state in the 1960s ... long after most of those countries made the mistake of letting women vote.
Women should not be allowed to vote? Their vote had nothing to do with the welfare state, which started long before the 1960s.