Obama’s Mission: Increase Dependence

Reason ^ | February 4, 2015 | A. Barton Hinkle

[reaganaut1]

History will remember President Barack Obama for many things. One of them will be his campaign to increase dependence on government—a goal he has pursued with missionary zeal.

Everyone needs a helping hand to get through life at some point. Some people, through no fault of their own, need a helping hand for the entire journey. Government has a role to play in providing it, as even apostles of market economics, such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, recognized. But for many decades, the general (and correct) sense was that depending on government should be a last resort: People should support themselves if they are able to, lean on friends and family when they aren't, and rely on the coerced assistance of others only so long as absolutely necessary.

The president does not share that view. This has become abundantly clear to most people, thanks (inter much alia) to Obamacare. And yet the president keeps trying to remove every last shred of doubt. Hence some of the proposals in his State of the Union address.

These include an $80 billion expansion of a federal program that provides state grants to help low- and middle-income families purchase child care, as well as an extension of Head Start (despite two studies by his own Department of Health and Human Services finding the program doesn't work). At the same time, the president wants to eliminate dependent-care flexible spending accounts.

Those FSAs are similar to medical savings accounts, in that they let workers squirrel away pre-tax dollars to pay for child care. The combined effect of the two policy changes would be to discourage people from saving for child care and encourage them to seek the government-funded kind instead.

[PGR88]

Some people, through no fault of their own, need a helping hand

that's the great lie. The government doesn't help.

[faithhopecharity]

unlike some here, I am happy to have (even govt) help those people who genuinely need assistance

persons with serious disabilities that make normal working impossible or very difficult..

NOT the millions and millions of able-bodied people being signed up for the dole now

this is just a part of O’s scheme to weaken America (and yes, buy more votes that’s true too)

I am betting that about 90 percent of the folks on relief today do not need it, they can work

and if they work, they can build lives for themselves, and they can have justifiable pride in their accomplishments

and they will be relatively independent again, free people...not sheeple or modern-day slaves to be controlled and led by their noses by their political Masters

[Gator113]

“History will remember President Barack Obama for many things.”

It is my daily prayer that Obama will be remembered for being the first American Resident to be lawfully tried and convicted for treason and sentenced accordingly. But heck, I admit to occasionally dreaming in color.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Obama is a practitioner of “Creeping Marxism”, aka “dependence on government for the basics of life”.

In other words, he is a very successful communist with an Islamic tinge thrown in for good measure.

All the other stuff written about him is secondary.

[VerySadAmerican]

There’s a big problem that nobody dares to talk about. Most of those on welfare can’t work due to lack of intelligence. There’s not a job they’re qualified to do anymore. The Mexicans took most of them.

[faithhopecharity]

I understand your point.
At the same time, Americans with high qualifications are also being knocked out of the job market... by the overall depressed Obama economy...and by many (not all) big corporations preferring to import foreigners instead of hiring American citizens.

so the unemployment keeps increasing at both the top half and the bottom half of the ladder

the problem is not confined to “just” the bottom levels

[VerySadAmerican]

I agree. The middle class is shrinking and the bottom and top are expanding.

[faithhopecharity]

the top is expanding largely by the high-monied immigrants (from People’ Republic of China, largely, also some Arab and Iranians with $$$$$$$$$$$$, a few more)

the bottom is expanding largely by ‘normal working Americans’ losing their jobs (38 million jobs destroyed in the last 4 or 5 yaers, we read)

so yes, if we are to use Marxist terminology, the middle or working class American citizens are getting the shaft