A Nation on the Dole

The Wall Street Journal has a front page article that is truly depressing if you care about our American nation. Author Sara Murray reports some ugly statistics. Here are two:

• Nearly half of all Americans live in a household in which someone receives government benefits, more than at any time in history.
• The fraction of American households not paying federal income taxes has also grown—to an estimated 45% in 2010.

According to Murray, this is not a new phenomenon:

The trend toward more Americans receiving government benefits of one sort or another has continued for more than 70 years—and shows no sign of abating.

In other words, it dates back to the days of FDR - no surprise.