Danger: There are more people who vote for a living than work for a living

Watchdog Wire has written numerous columns about the costs of dependence on government largesse. Government is defined as a “system of ruling or controlling”. Largesse is defined as, “the liberal giving (as of money) to or as if to an inferior.”

Government largess is ruling by the liberal giving of money to the governed.

The US Government, states, county and city governments are liberally giving money to the governed at an increasing rate. Republicans and Democrats alike have expanded the use of largesse in the hope of gaining popularity and thereby votes.

Powerline Blog shows how the United States is at the tipping point with ever more people dependent on government for their lively-hood than not. Powerline defines them as “makers” and “takers” stating, “Those who work for a living have been sold out by federal and state governments that have created a welfare system gone mad.”

ZeroHedge has the grim numbers:

[I]t is now more lucrative – in the form of actual disposable income – to sit, do nothing, and collect various welfare entitlements, than to work. This is graphically, and very painfully confirmed, in the below chart from Gary Alexander, Secretary of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (a state best known for its broke capital Harrisburg). As quantified  and explained by Alexander, “the single mom is better off earning gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income & benefits than to earn gross income of $69,000 with net income and benefits of $57,045.“

Click on chart for larger view

Powerline Blog states, “In today’s America, it is reasonable to conclude that unless you make a great deal of money, you are a sucker if you work hard. And, in fact, a great many Americans have concluded exactly that. Check out these data, again from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. Each 1.25 Americans working in the private sector is supporting 1.0 welfare recipients and government employees–mostly welfare recipients:

Click on chart for larger view

Karl Marx said, “Religion is the opiate of the people.” It is now clear that in the US, “Government largess is the opiate of the people.”

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