'Takers' overtake 'makers,' threatening American self-reliance
The Washington Examiner
February 12, 2012
Here are four facts that ought to scare the daylights out of every person who cares about preserving individual freedom, economic opportunity and American self-reliance. According to the Heritage Foundation's latest Index of Dependency -- which measures the degree to which individuals rely on benefits funded by the tax payments of other Americans -- these four facts illustrate the reality that our country is losing the spirit of independence that is the heart of citizenship:
• Takers get more than makers: Individuals received on average $32,748 worth of benefits annually in 2010, the most recent year for which full data is available. By comparison, the average personal disposable income of tax-paying Americans was $32,446.
• More takers mean more costs for taxpayers: An estimated 67.3 million people in America depended on government for food stamps, retirement income, health care, job training and a host of other benefits. As a result, the dependency index rose 8.1 percent in 2010 over 2009, at a cost to taxpayers of $2.5 trillion.
• Fewer makers to support each taker: Just as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher predicted, sooner or later the entitlement state runs out of other peoples' money to redistribute. In 2010, nearly half -- 49.5 percent -- of all adult Americans paid no federal income taxes. This is a prescription for an economic imbalance similar to the one that has paralyzed Greece.
• Ranks of the takers are exploding: The baby boomer generation has begun retiring and within the next 25 years their ranks will swell to more than 70 million. Virtually all of them will depend on government for many benefits. This means the Dependency Index is headed higher, even if major entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are reformed now. ...
Remainder of article @ http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/editorials/2012/02/takers-overtake-makers-threatening-american-self-reliance/266966
The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted. ~ D.H. Lawrence
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