Thread: 86M Full-Time Private-Sector Workers Sustain 148M Benefit Takers

86M Full-Time Private-Sector Workers Sustain 148M Benefit Takers


April 16, 2014 - 5:04 AM
By Terence P. Jeffrey

(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Buried deep on the website of the U.S. Census Bureau is a number every American citizen, and especially those entrusted with public office, should know. It is 86,429,000.

That is the number of Americans who in 2012 got up every morning and went to work — in the private sector — and did it week after week after week.

These are the people who built America, and these are the people who can sustain it as a free country. The liberal media have not made them famous like the polar bear, but they are truly a threatened species.

It is not a rancher with a few hundred head of cattle that is attacking their habitat, nor an energy company developing a fossil fuel. It is big government and its primary weapon — an ever-expanding welfare state.

First, let's look at the basic taxonomy of the full-time, year-round American worker.

In 2012, according to the Census Bureau, approximately 103,087,000 people worked full-time, year-round in the United States. "A full-time, year-round worker is a person who worked 35 or more hours per week (full time) and 50 or more weeks during the previous calendar year (year round)," said the Census Bureau. "For school personnel, summer vacation is counted as weeks worked if they are scheduled to return to their job in the fall."

Of the 103,087,000 full-time, year-round workers, 16,606,000 worked for the government. That included 12,597,000 who worked for state and local government and 4,009,000 who worked for the federal government.

The 86,429,000 Americans who worked full-time, year-round in the private sector, included 77,392,000 employed as wage and salary workers for private-sector enterprises and 9,037,000 who worked for themselves. (There were also approximately 52,000 who worked full-time, year-round without pay in a family enterprise.)

At first glance, 86,429,000 might seem like a healthy population of full-time private-sector workers. But then you need to look at what they are up against.

The Census Bureau also estimates the size of the benefit-receiving population.

This population, too, falls into two broad categories. The first includes those who receive benefits for public services they performed or in exchange for payroll taxes they dutifully paid their entire working lives. Among these, for example, are those receiving veteran's benefits, those on unemployment and those getting Medicare and Social Security.

The second category includes those who get "means-tested" government benefits — or welfare. These include, for example, those who get Medicaid, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, public housing, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Women, Infants Children.

Let's examine this second category first, which the Census Bureau reports as "anyone residing in a household in which one or more people received benefits from the program."

In the last quarter of 2011, according to the Census Bureau, approximately 82,457,000 people lived in households where one or more people were on Medicaid. 49,073,000 lived in households were someone got food stamps. 23,228,000 lived in households where one or more got WIC. 20,223,000 lived in households where one or more got SSI. 13,433,000 lived in public or government-subsidized housing.

Of course, it stands to reason that some people lived in households that received more than one welfare benefit at a time. To account for this, the Census Bureau published a neat composite statistic: There were 108,592,000 people in the fourth quarter of 2011 who lived in a household that included people on "one or more means-tested program."

Those 108,592,000 outnumbered the 86,429,000 full-time private-sector workers who inhabited the United States in 2012 by almost 1.3 to 1.

This brings us to the first category of benefit receivers. There were 49,901,000 people receiving Social Security in the fourth quarter of 2011, and 46,440,000 receiving Medicare. There were also 5,098,000 getting unemployment compensation.

And there were also, 3,178,000 veterans receiving benefits and 34,000 veterans getting educational assistance.

All told, including both the welfare recipients and the non-welfare beneficiaries, there were 151,014,000 who "received benefits from one or more programs" in the fourth quarter of 2011. Subtract the 3,212,000 veterans, who served their country in the most profound way possible, and that leaves 147,802,000 non-veteran benefit takers.

The 147,802,000 non-veteran benefit takers outnumbered the 86,429,000 full-time private sector workers 1.7 to 1.

How much more can the 86,429,000 endure?

As more baby boomers retire, and as Obamacare comes fully online — with its expanded Medicaid rolls and federally subsidized health insurance for anyone earning less than 400 percent of the poverty level — the number of takers will inevitably expand. And the number of full-time private-sector workers might also contract.

Eventually, there will be too few carrying too many, and America will break.
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SHOCK: 86 Million Workers Sustain 148 Million Benefit Takers... http://www.cnsnews.com/commentary/te...benefit-takers




86M Full-Time Private-Sector Workers Sustain 148M Benefit Takers

Buried deep on the website of the U.S. Census Bureau is a number every American citizen, and especially those entrusted with public office, should know. It is...

cnsnews.com

New Study Shows Average American Pays $8,577 for Welfare

By MONEY MORNING STAFF REPORTS

It's time for the government to admit facts: The war on poverty is a malicious, unsustainable conspiracy designed to destroy America's middle-class.
Today there are 108.5 million Americans receiving some form of welfare, but only 101.7 full-time workers paying for these benefits, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
While President Obama campaigned against the rich and for a stronger middle class, the truth is his actions are part of a government conspiracy keeping poor Americans out of work and on welfare.
The end goal for Obama and the political elite orchestrating this scheme-career politicians with unlimited power and wealth-is a nation entirely dependent on Uncle Sam.
And both Democrats and Republicans alike are involved.
"What you are seeing in Washington is not a capitol that is hopelessly divided-it's hopelessly interconnected," New York Times Magazine Chief National Correspondent Mark Leibovich recently wrote.
This conspiracy started 50 years ago when Lyndon B. Johnson initiated the "War on Poverty."
"What I'm doing is taking from the haves and giving to have-nots," Johnson said back in 1964.
The "giving" has been expanding ever since, today reaching its most critical level ever.
As Thomas Jefferson warned, "Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
Editor's Note: Are you tired of government-run Ponzi schemes that are stealing your money? This shocking video shows you how you can fight back. To see the controversial video that many liberals want to ban, go here.
When you add up all the possible benefits from food, housing, medical care, social services, and cash, a family of four could receive up to $40,000 a year in taxpayer-funded subsidies.
Why would someone work making $50,000 to $60,000 when, after paying taxes, they will receive less than they could have by just sitting at home and relying on welfare checks?
The numbers don't lie. The entitlement disaster is plaguing the country.
To keep the federal welfare program solvent, each American taxpayer is forced to pay an average of $8,776 every year.
At the same time, the average welfare recipient is handed $9,500 per year today in what is often called "free" government benefits.
The additional money comes from the country's ever-increasing deficit, which now stands above $17 trillion.
And while the U.S. population has risen 56% since 1969, the number of Americans on food stamps has surged 1,625%.
Plus, it's now projected that approximately 50% of all U.S. children will be on food stamps at some point in their lives before they reach 18.
Even more appalling, in 2011, the government spent $41.3 million just for advertising food stamps.
According to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), "Washington is making the poverty trap worse."

Editor's Note: An estimated $1.9 million of your retirement money has been "stolen" because of this government conspiracy run by the political elite. Go here to find out how you can get it back.
With the welfare crisis looming, now is the time to take steps to protect yourself, your family, and make appropriate moves to insure your retirement assets continue to grow.
A great place to start is George Gilder's book, Wealth and Poverty.
In Wealth and Poverty, Gilder helps Americans see what's gone wrong, why it's gone wrong, and what can be done to restore the wealth that's been stripped from you thanks to the costly welfare society created by government programs.
Gilder explains how, "The welfare culture is destroying the very fabric of American families."
He notes, "The political elite's war on private industry will only result in catastrophe."
Most importantly, in Wealth and Poverty Gilder breaks down the massive scale of the economic crisis you now face and how you actually can - and, in fact, must - overcome it.
Steve Forbes calls this amazing book, "One of the great books of Western civilization, on par with Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations."
Rush Limbaugh says, "My friends, it would behoove you to study everything you can get your hands on by George Gilder, a true American genius."

Editor's Note: As a service, Money Morning is offering readers a FREE copy of George Gilder's book, Wealth and Poverty. In this amazing book, Gilder covers the economic crisis that will result from our welfare state and the savvy moves investors can make now to regain lost retirement money and profit in the coming mess. Go here to find out how you can reserve your FREE copy today.


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The Federalist Papers

Do you agree with Allen West, that the USA is at a tipping point and unless we institute growth oriented policies that get people back to work our republic is doomed?



Shocking Census Numbers Shows the USA is at a Tipping Point - [WATCH]

Well, here we are on the brink, backed up by cold hard facts.

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