Measuring the Government
I have not had time to go through this in depth to see what the methodology looks like, but the Heritage Foundation tries to craft an index of government dependency. I am not sure the Left can really refute the trend, especially since this is essentially what Obama is taking credit for in "Julia." The difference, of course, is one's evaluation of whether this is good or bad.
John Moore:
Julia is the creepiest thing I've seen from Obama yet. Positively scary.
Also, if you go through the whole thing, you will never see a man in her entire lifetime. Her kid appears by magic, because she wants one, sort of like she wants a kitten or a new TV.
May 7, 2012, 7:28 pma_random_guy:
"No taxation without representation" should have a corollary, namely "No representation without taxation". Anyone who pays no taxes (or less in taxes than they receive in direct payments), should have no right to vote. If they want to vote, they could always voluntarily pay taxes, or get off the dole.
Of course, this would mean that lots of senior citizens living on social security would lose the vote. That might spark some interesting discussions...
May 7, 2012, 11:44 pmlitehouse:
If you look at the increasing trends in the recent years - they started with GW Bush, not with Obama. Also, it seems quite obvious that a macroeconomic recession and high unemployment will, ceteris paribus, accelerate these trends. Would be interesting to disentangle the effects arising from changes in legislation and changes in the macroeconomy during the last years.
May 8, 2012, 3:10 amBenjamin Cole:
Is there any group in the USA more dependent on the federal government than corn farmers?
First they get subsidies to grow corn, and then the use of ethanol (derived from corn) is mandated in gasoline.
That has to be the most pink-o, socialist sector of our entire economy.
May 9, 2012, 1:02 pmme:
Here's an interesting measurement: comparison of gunshots fired/people killed by the police for the US and Germany. Rejoice, we're still best at shooting and killing, even on a per-capita basis.
http://news.yahoo.com/german-police-used-only-85-bullets-against-people-155155175.html
May 13, 2012, 11:21 am