Dependency Index Surges 23% Under President Obama

By JOHN MERLINE, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 02/08/2012 08:02 AM ET


The American public's dependence on the federal government shot up 23% in just two years under President Obama, with 67 million now relying on some federal program, according to a newly released study by the Heritage Foundation.

The conservative think tank's annual Index of Dependence on Government tracks money spent on housing, health, welfare, education subsidies and other federal programs that were "traditionally provided to needy people by local organizations and families."

The two-year increase under Obama is the biggest two-year jump since Jimmy Carter was president, the data show.

The rise was driven mainly by increases in housing subsidies, an expansion in Medicaid and changes to the welfare system, along with a sharp rise in food stamps, the study found.

"You can't get around the fact that policy decisions made over the past two years, on top of those made over the past several decades, are having a large effect on the pace of growth of the index," said William Beach, who authored the Heritage study.

Government dependence has climbed steadily since 1962, when the index stood at 19. By 1980, the index had risen to 100. It stood at 294 in 2010, the last year for which the data are available. D.C.-based Heritage has produced the index for nine years.

The report also found that spending on "dependence programs" accounts for more than 70% of the federal budget. That, too, is up dramatically. In 1990, for example, the figure stood at 48.5%, and in 1962 just over a quarter of federal spending went to dependence programs.

At the same time, fewer Americans pay income taxes, the report notes. Almost half (49.5%) didn't pay income taxes in 2009, the latest year for which the researchers have data. Back in the late 1960s, only 12% of Americans escaped the income tax burden.

Other findings:

DEAR LORD, THERE IS "MORE"?: http://news.investors.com/Article/60...dent-obama.htm

Funny comment at the bottom, "This isn't by accident.
The Democrats MUST have a base that is perpetually angry, poor and uneducated to keep winning elections."

Another good comment, "The more that is handed out, the more likely the beneficiaries are to vote Democrat. It is a scheme to gain power and control, and the casualty is individual freedom, liberty and human potential."

"This isn't by accident. The Democrats MUST have a base that is perpetually angry, poor and uneducated to keep winning elections."

"The more that is handed out, the more likely the beneficiaries are to vote Democrat. It is a scheme to gain power and control, and the casualty is individual freedom, liberty and human potential."

"Democrats desire control and power. They understand that power comes from votes. Votes can be bought with gifts (EBT cards, food stamps, etc.) from the public treasury. Their ability to stay in power is directly related to how much they can destroy the economy and increase the numbers of those who depend on government handouts for survival."