And that’s just the way Government wants it
(IBD) The American public’s dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program, according to a newly released study by the Heritage Foundation.
The conservative think tank’s annual Index of Dependence on Government tracks money spent on housing, health, welfare, education subsidies and other federal programs that were “traditionally provided to needy people by local organizations and families.”
The two-year increase under Obama is the biggest two-year jump since Jimmy Carter was president, the data show.
The rise was driven mainly by increases in housing subsidies, an expansion in Medicaid and changes to the welfare system, along with a sharp rise in food stamps, the study found.
“You can’t get around the fact that policy decisions made over the past two years, on top of those made over the past several decades, are having a large effect on the pace of growth of the index,” said William Beach, who authored the Heritage study.
Lest one think I am solely blaming Obama and Democrats, this is a problem with all parties. While dependency was slow in rising during the Reagan years, it was also slow during the second half of the Clinton years. And rose during Bush 43. And Nixon. The elected political aristocracy in both parties continue to pass legislation that makes people more dependent on government, especially the federal government. All to get re-elected. This is one of the reasons we need congressional term limits. That way, legislators have to go home and live under the laws they created. And dependency breeds a loss of personal freedom.
Of course, Democrats want Americans dependent on the Central Government, because they want control over people. Hence, a Dem President and Congress increasing dependency 23%. 1 in 5 Americans are now dependent on government (not including government employees). Dependency jumped 13.84% in 2009. The highest jumps have mostly come under Democrat presidents. Heritage concludes
Perhaps the greatest danger is that the swelling ranks of Americans who enjoy government services and benefits for which they pay few or no taxes will lead to a spreading sense of entitlement that is simply incompatible with self-government. Are Americans completely indifferent to history’s many examples of republican government collapsing under the weight of just such populations? Are Americans near a tipping point in the nature of their government and the principles that tie it to civil life?
49.5% of Americans pay no federal income tax. And, yes, we can, in fact, Blame Bush for part of that. We can also Blame Obama.
