Via USA TODAY:
The recession is driving the safety net of government benefits to a historic high, as one of every six dollars of Americans’ income is now coming in the form of a federal or state check or voucher.
Benefits, such as Social Security, food stamps, unemployment insurance and health care, accounted for 16.2% of personal income in the first quarter of 2009, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That’s the highest percentage since the government began compiling records in 1929.
In all, government spending on benefits will top $2 trillion in 2009 — an average of $17,000 provided to each U.S. household, federal data show.
If the government is “handing” each U.S. household $17,000, then what is the government wanting/demanding in return? Exactly how close are we becoming to all being wards/dependents of the government? Who are you beholden to? Who is your master?
