Government wealth transfer accounts for more than 1/3 of all U.S. wages and salaries

From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.

More than one third of all the income "earned" in the U.S. is actually the result of government wealth transfer payments. Uncle Sam taketh, and Uncle Sam giveth away.

No wonder that fat slob Michael Moore is so anxious to get his grubby mitts on our wealth. It's the only way to keep the welfare state chugging along.

"The U.S. economy has become alarmingly dependent on government stimulus," said Madeline Schnapp, director of Macroeconomic Research at TrimTabs, in a note to clients. "Consumption supported by wages and salaries is a much stronger foundation for economic growth than consumption based on social welfare benefits."

He'll turn us all into beggars 'cause they're easier to please.

Social welfare benefits have increased by $514 billion over the last two years, according to TrimTabs figures.

Yikes. And the Baby Boomers really haven't started retiring in droves yet.

When they do, look out America. Because they didn't do their part to sweeten the pot:

Almost every problem facing the Western world, from self-detonating jihadists to America's own suicide bomb — the multi-trillion dollar debt — has at its root a remorseless demographic arithmetic. In the U.S., the baby boomers did not have enough children to maintain their mid-20th century social programs. I see that recent polls supposedly show that huge majorities of Americans don't want any modifications to Medicare or Social Security. So what? It doesn't matter what you "want." The country's broke, and you can vote yourself unsustainable quantities of government lollipops all you like, but all you're doing is ensuring that when, eventually, you're obliged to reacquaint yourself with reality, the shock will be far more devastating and convulsive.

How long can the charade go on? One of these days the tax payers are going to decide it's not worth getting up in the morning to support the tax eaters. Then what?

We have to drastically cut entitlement spending. We don't have any other option. The biggest entitlement of all is Social Security. And no matter what your grandmother told you, it really is a Ponzi scheme. There is no "lockbox". There are no "accounts". The entire system is built on air.

Does anybody remember the "notch babies"? Thanks to a quirk in the formulas folks born between 1917 and 1922 receive less in Social Security benefits than anyone else. For a while there it seemed like every other day Congress was on the verge of having to "do something" about this "travesty".

Then a funny thing happened. The notch babies died.

Problem solved!

The Baby Boomers aren't getting any younger you know.

If they want money for nothing let 'em play the guitar on the MTV.

Posted at 16:15 by Chris Wysocki   [/economy]   Comments | Perm Link |
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