Explain how the following actual design features have an important effect on the consequences of government programs:
a. The income ceiling for eligibility for SNAP benefits is reduced by expenditures on housing.
b. Until recently, whether an individual between ages sixty-five and seventy was eligible for Social Security benefits depended on his or her income calculated on a month-by-month basis.
c. An ex-spouse becomes eligible for Social Security benefi ts only if the marriage lasted at least ten years.
Can you think of other instances in which particular design features have seemingly unintended consequences?