Posted on 04/16/2007 8:12:56 AM PDT by oblomov
Maybe the era of big government isn't over, after all.
As Americans finish their annual tax-filing flurry to meet a Tuesday deadline, it is true that tax rates are lower than they were a few years ago. But according to a different yardstick, the federal government's reach is expanding.
Slightly over half of all Americans – 52.6 percent – now receive significant income from government programs, according to an analysis by Gary Shilling, an economist in Springfield, N.J. That's up from 49.4 percent in 2000 and far above the 28.3 percent of Americans in 1950. If the trend continues, the percentage could rise within ten years to pass 55 percent, where it stood in 1980 on the eve of President's Reagan's move to scale back the size of government.
That two-decade shrink-the-government trend now appears over, if for no other reason than demographics. The aging baby-boomer generation is poised to receive big payments from Social Security and government healthcare programs.
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
Is this including Federal employees? Or is this a reference to social spending? Either way, the number is WAY too high.
>>>Is this including Federal employees? Or is this a reference to social spending?
Both.
From the perspective of the recipient, it is 'free'.
The "trend" only existed in Republican fund raising speeches. I don't think there was any year in which the amount spent by the government was less then the year before.
I put enough hard earned $$ into the SS program at no will of my own, and want it ALL back .
This was the dumbest quote in the story (so dumb they had to repeat it twice). What we have found is that social security is NOT successful and an incredibly poor way to provide for retirement. It is only popular because we haven't been allowed by Government to change the program into something that works better. People are fearful of losing what little Social Security does provide them for their money.
Per the article “significant income” means that as the population is aging, more and more of them are living on their ss income.
This was expected.
No news here.
No way, Jose. The money contributed in your name is long spent.
You will get it all back. The more appropriate question is: What will it be worth? With the way things are going on the inflation front, you will be lucky if your SS income in 20 years will be enough for a cup of coffee and a doughnut.
Thank god the Repulicans have been running the show! < /s>
Yeah the drop the tax rates, but then more of us get hit with the AMT.
It’s all just a shell game.
I put enough hard earned $$ into the SS program at no will of my own, and want it ALL back .
And the problem is we've already paid into it with our own money, and so we are so fearful of losing what we've paid in that we'd do anything to save it, even though it would be in the best interests to get rid of it.
Besides, ask any Indian about how reliable a contract signed with the United States Government is.
Yes; and government & military pensions, and Social Security, and private sector workers 'dependent on government business', and the social programs, including college grants.
You can bet that every civilian-support military worker, as well as Haliburton, Bechtel, shipyards, ports, airports, state highway workers (they get a big portion of their funding from the Feds) hopsital & nursing home employees, etc. are all included in those catagories. So are a heck of a lot of others, working for companies that sell ANYTHING to the government.
Many, like hospoital & medical workers get to be counted twice, because they are 'dependent' on Federal spending, ie Medicare, Medicaid, etc.; AND they probably got various school or other grants.
The purpose was to shock, not inform.
There needs to be a reasonable balance restored between supporting those who both truly need and deserve support from the government, and blanket largesse given to the public at large.
For example, there should be a means test for any kind of unearned government support. Nobody of means should receive Social Security, for example, even if they have put large amounts of money into the system. Social Security should be returned over time to those who it was originally intended for, minimum wage employees with no other retirement.
While most people would resist such an idea, with inflation, all the money paid in might just be enough for a reasonable retirement for the few. However, in the future, unless Social Security could be fully funded by those minimum wage employees who would benefit from it, it must be restructured into an investment account, so that it could.
Conversely, the US has a perpetual overabundance of food, so food aid should be very liberal indeed. Since the government controls food production and prices to protect farmers, it should also reduce its surplus as effectively. Warehousing surplus is just too expensive to continue.
Free enterprise should also enter in to the situation for government benefits. Everything from “retirement insurance” offered by insurance companies, to a multitude of health care with an increasing emphasis on privatization, should also be on the table.
BUT-—
I read and heard some statistics regarding the Federal budget today (Actually I believe it was 2005 or 06) vs. some historical point - I wish I could remember.
Anyway - the defense spending and social spending had pretty much swapped places. The historical figure was defense took up something over 80% of the budget, while today’s figures, social spending makes up over 60% of the Federal budget.
I just wish I could find the exact figures again... was truly frustrating.
Not only that, but state and local have raised taxes and have taken a lot of the federal tax savings. It’s pretty much a wash.
Believe me -If they screw us WE WILL GET EVEN!!!
Remember that according the dems and the MSM, a "spending cut" means that government spending increased, just not as much as they wanted it to.
Then let’s cange WE to I . Where there is a will, there is the way . Beware of the ONE!!
Try to remember, Bush & Co. tried to get started with reform, but were blocked by the Dems. Repubs were unable to get the votes necessary to reform the system, and they proposed good ideas on reform/fixing the system. Dems kicked the can down the road and never even addressed it. Dems never came up with an idea to help solve the impending shortfall.
I expect nothing. I plan on nothing. In return, I dream that my government doesn’t ask more of me than God (10%). Fat chance...
Anyway, does anyone know what day is Tax Freedom Day this year?
You think it hurts now, just wait ‘til you have to pay the Jizya!
LOL !
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