A Nation of Takers: Behind the Entitlement Explosion

So we just continue then to enable parents to be irresponsible ?
If a parent isn't willing to show they are capable of even the basic responsibilities, then they have no business having kids in the first place, and the ones that do should have their children taken away.

 

Why are you framing the argument so narrowly to score cheap points? The whole welfare state is the problem. Funding illegitimate generations is culturally toxic. Get it?

The large entitlement programs such as social security and medical insurance will bankrupt us.

 

We are real close to the tipping point of having more drone takers than we have providers. At that point liberals are going to run out of other peoples money-----------what will they do then?

 

Pravda Calls Obama a Communist, Blames his Reelection on ‘Illiterate Americans’

 

Yes. And that is the point. Overall, the welfare state hasn't gotten more expansive when compared to GDP. There's also no policy from the Obama administration which even remotely points to an intentional size expansion. It's simply that healthcare costs have gone through the roof, especially for the elderly.

Yes, but looking at the overarching trends, this is to be expected. We've never had such a prolonged weak economy where welfare programs actually existed. One would expect such a spike to be rather extreme, seeing as our current depression is far worse than the recessions in the last few decades.

No, I think this is okay because there is no overarching increase in the trend. Yes, we have a new record, which spiked around 2008 and early 2009, and started to go down again. If this doesn't normalize again when the economy recovers, then we have a problem.

Could you demonstrate that?

 

“Since 1960, transfer payments to individuals have grown from one-third to two-thirds of all federal government spending. It is crowding out investments in defense, infrastructure and research. On a per person basis, entitlement spending has leaped 700 percent with the average annual burden for every man, woman and child in America now at $7,200, he said.”

Taxcutter says:
Indisputable numbers.



“…the trend has been driven by the aging of society, which naturally increases Social Security and Medicare spending.”

Taxcutter says:
Why were SS and Medicare benefits not adjusted to account for an aging population?



“…an overly generous disability system.”

Taxcutter says:
Agreed. It has become an extended form of unemployment benefit during the Obama Depression.



“…nearly half of the nation’s children receive some form of assistance…”

Taxcutter says:
Anybody dispute this?



“…those two programs this year will consume nearly 36 percent of the $2.6 trillion in federal transfer payments to individuals. That’s 5.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), up from 1.6 percent of GDP in the mid-1970s, when government-provided health insurance coverage for the aged and very poor became fully operational. It was near zero in 1960.”

Taxcutter says:
Again, numbers beyond dispute.



“How many of you are on some form of entitlement program? Welfare, food stamps? Come on, fess up.”

Taxcutter says:
Not me, sport. I get up at oh-dark-thirty and shag my butt to work.



“Entitlements growth will bring the U.S.A. to default or print more and more and more money.”

Taxcutter says:
If you don’t attenuate transfer payments there is no other course of action.



“…entitlements apparently aren't growing. Our health care costs are.”

Taxcutter says:
Since 1965 health care has become an entitlement. Federal money in the health care market drives up costs.



“There was a time when America still had an industry sector.”

Taxcutter says:
Then along came excessive taxation, excessive regulation, and excessive litigation. These imposed costs on the industrial sector that competitors did not have to bear and our industry became noncompetitive and died out.




“…why should the child have to go hungry if they have parents that will not take responsibility to feed them?”

Taxcutter says:
Good question.



“…the wealthy won't pay the workers a decent wage.”

Taxcutter says:
Because the work they do is not worth all that much.




“What did Jesus say?”

Taxcutter paraphrases:
Render unto Nero that which is Nero’s.




“It just has to be 50/50, Romney said 47 percent of the country are net recipients, or dependent on government, so if the other half who are net contributors pay for them, the math will work, it is a mathematical certainty.”

Taxcutter says:
Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Always popular with Paul. Never popular with Peter. This is what Socrates warned against.