Gov't Now Redistributing One-Sixth of the Economy

What is the expertise of the federal government? It's not in defending the nation, which only gets around 20% of the resources, even though most people would concede that as the primary job of the federal government. As John Merline points out, the government actually spends more time and resources cutting checks than anything else it does. The White House budget's Historical Tables volume shows that direct payments to individuals have increased from 2.4% at the end of World War II to 66.2% in 2010, including grants. Ten years ago, that number was 60.6%. Excluding grants, we have gone from 1.9% in 1945 to 54.8% now. The political unrest in Wisconsin, billed as some kind of grass-roots uprising, is being organized and directed by Barack Obama‘s Organizing for America and the Democratic National Committee. This development is consistent with Mr. Obama‘s instructions for supporters to “get in the face” of those who oppose them, but in this case, they are seeking to derail a lawful legislative process.