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Mail
Magazine 24...
Dependence
on Government at All-Time High
Government
Dependence Surges 23% Under Obama
February 15, 2012
The 2012
Index of Dependence on Government, released today, should be a wake-up
call for
America. Published by The Heritage Foundation for the past 10 years,
the Index
tracks the growth in government dependence dating back to the early
1960s. This
year’s edition shows an alarming trend. Among the most troubling facts:
One in five
Americans—the highest in the nation’s history—relies on the federal
government
for everything from housing, health care, and food stamps to college
tuition
and retirement assistance. That’s more than 67.3 million Americans who
receive
subsidies from Washington.
Government
dependency jumped 8.1 percent in the past year, with the most
assistance going
toward housing, health and welfare, and retirement.
The federal
government spent more taxpayer dollars than ever before in 2011 to
subsidize
Americans. The average individual who relies on Washington could
receive
benefits valued at $32,748, more than the nation’s average disposable
personal
income ($32,446).
At the same
time, nearly half of the U.S. population (49.5 percent) does not pay
any
federal income taxes.
In the next
25 years, more than 77 million baby boomers will retire. They will
begin
collecting checks from Social Security, drawing benefits from Medicare,
and
relying on Medicaid for long-term care.
As of now,
70 percent of the federal government’s budget goes to individual
assistance
programs, up dramatically in just the past few years. However, research
shows
that private, community, and charitable aid helps individuals rise from
their
difficulties with better success than federal government handouts.
Plus, local
and private aid is often more effectively distributed.
This much
dependence on government has not been seen before in our nation, and it
spells
grave danger for the republic. A dose of reality would inform
politicians that
federal handouts, while politically expedient, will doom the republic
if they
are not curtailed.
by Patrick
Tyrrell, blog.heritage.org
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and other articles at Mail Magazine 24
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