Morning Bell: The Tea Party Is Here to Stay
Conn Carroll /
Today, The Heritage Foundation released its 2010 Index of Dependence on Government. This annual report tracks the growth of dependence-creating federal programs, programs that crowd-out what was once America’s great civil society. At one time, social obligations and services were carried out by community groups, family networks and even local governments. Now, an ever growing and ever more unaccountable federal bureaucracy undermines our spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement by making more and more Americans dependent on Big Government. In 2010, we witnessed a record-breaking surge in American dependence on the federal government including:
- Government support for dependent persons has grown from $7,293 per person in 1962, to $31,950 per person today (adjusted for inflation).
- 132.5 million Americans either pay no income tax or live in a household that pays no income tax. This is up from just 34.8 million in 1984.
- Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid eat up 41% of all non-interest federal program spending. Unchecked, this will grow to 62% over the next decade.
Not all dependence is bad. As Heritage Foundation Center for Data Analysis director Bill Beach writes: “People spend most of their childhoods utterly dependent on their parents, and many people will rely on caregivers during their last years. Dependence on family, neighbors, fellow members of community groups, and—yes—local government is the normal, everyday stuff of life.” But dependence on the federal government is categorically different. Federal government aid does not strengthen communities and families: just look at how the federal welfare system undermined family structures and hollowed-out communities for a generation. (more…)