SEPTEMBER 10, 2014
The country is on the wrong path for economic recovery
Too many Americans are on the dole. They need better jobs if they are to regain their sense of self-sufficiency
WASHINGTON, D.C. – "We've come a wrong, long way since the Obama Administration took office in 2009," according to Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens who noted that the number of Americans receiving government assistance has more than doubled since then.
At the time the Great Recession ended in 2009, economists estimated that about 50 million people were receiving welfare, food stamps or unemployment assistance. New figures from the Census Bureau show that number has more than doubled to as many as 110 million Americans who currently receive some kind of public assistance, Weber said.
"It's not surprising that fully one third of the country is on the dole, considering the unprecedented, aggressive marketing program the administration has undertaken to encourage people to sign up for tax-payer funded benefits. President Obama, himself, boasts of how successful his administration has been in the task of increasing the number of assistance recipients on the rolls. His surrogates, including folks like Nancy Pelosi, tout the alleged economic benefits of welfare programs. They dismiss the fact that while the recession officially ended five years ago, the country is still struggling in the aftermath."
Rutgers University recently reported the results of a survey that showed the great majority of respondents believe that the economy suffered permanent damage in the aftermath of the recession. Other polls show great numbers of Americans believe the recession is ongoing, Weber noted.
"They're making less money than they made before the recession and they've lost a big chunk of their net worth. In 2007, the average household income was nearly $56,000 a year; in 2014 it is little more than $53,000 a year. And, at least one study shows that the net worth of the average American family is currently 43 percent lower than it was before the recession."
Weber said that the political focus on "income inequality" is misleading. He suggested that the real focal points should be on wealth creation, a return to higher household income levels and reducing the growing dependency on government assistance.
"We won't get there by spouting liberal rhetoric. We need a greater availability of good-paying, full time jobs by unshackling companies from overbearing regulations. Give Americans that kind of incentive and they'll soon wean themselves from the government dole and instill in themselves a sense of self-worth and a good, old-fashioned, conservative sense of self-sufficiency," the AMAC chief concluded.
