Tornado Alley (PROG)

[EZ2]

StreetTalkLive<>The Rise Of The Welfare State

Written by Lance Roberts | Wednesday, September 11, 2013

It is interesting to note that while the unemployment rate has been falling, currently at 7.3%, it has not been because of a strongly increasing workforce. Rather it has been a function of people leaving the workforce. This, of course, brings up the obvious question of how these people are live if they aren't working. A recent trip to Walmart answered that question.

As I was standing in line, with an assortment of items on my "back to school" shopping list, there was a Hispanic gentleman in front of me with two shopping carts full of groceries and other items. The cashier deftly handled the scanning and quoted the final price to the gentleman who reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. What caught my attention was that his wallet was literally about to explode from the amount of cash that was stuffed into it. My first thought was "Wow, this guy is doing alright for himself." However, my moment of admiration quickly turned to admonishment as instead of using some of his hoard of cash - he whipped out his supplemental nutrition assistance card. I literally watched in amazement as the cashier rang up the purchase, handed him the receipt and thanked him for his patronage. Really? This guy just loaded up on groceries using my tax dollars and he gets thanked for "his" patronage. He should be turning around and thanking me instead.

For me, I was stunned. My first thought was to follow the gentleman out into the parking lot and mug him to get my tax dollars back. However, quickly realizing my first option was unrealistic and illegal, I turned to the cashier and asked a simple question. "How often do you see people using food stamps to buy groceries?" The answer: "Just about every other person."

Welcome to 'Merica, The Welfare State.

This experience came to mind when I read a great article by Diana Furchtgott-Roth at E21 entitled "When It Pays Not To Work." In this article she cites some alarming statistics:

cont http://www.streettalklive.com/daily-x-change/1814-the-rise-of-the-welfare-state.html