Sunday, November 1, 2009

Welfare: How Much Longer Can It Last?

Over the last few years the number of people receiving food stamps and other welfare has increased dramatically. The ‘welfare issue’ is one which is rarely addressed by the U.S. mass media because the topic angers people, especially those who are paying taxes and not receiving anything in return for it.

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A few months ago I came across a Reuters story titled, “One in nine Americans on food stamps”. That ratio equates to about 33 million people or 11% of the population. Personally, I think the number is much higher and the government is afraid to report the true figures. But even 11% of the population is a huge number on the dole. This number doesn’t include other welfare benefits that people are receiving. When you factor in those numbers along with people receiving disability you could reasonably estimate that 3 out of 9 people are receiving some type of aid from the government.

Basically this translates to 66% of the population supporting the other 33%. You have to ask yourself, “How long can a system like this last before it crashes?” Well the system has lasted for quite a few decades but it’s all beginning to come to a head because the U.S. government is functionally bankrupt.

The only way the government can keep the system going is to print more money because they can’t collect enough in taxes to fund everything. By printing more money the government debases our currency. So not only do we have to deal with paying taxes directly to the government but we have to deal with the invisible but very real inflation tax.

Many taxpayers become depressed over these facts, but they should look at the silver lining because the system can’t last much longer in its current form. Hopefully after our government crashes it will be replaced by an honest one which will keep a fair system that doesn’t reward losers for not working or contributing to society.

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