‘Twilight’ Zone

[Geee]

PJMedia:

This horror story by James Pethokoukis ought to scare the living daylights out of you and anyone else who cares about the future of the country soon to be formerly known as the United States of America:

The original purpose of Medicaid was to provide improved healthcare access for poor people, while not turning the safety net into a trap. Under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Medicaid will be greatly expanded beyond what Congress originally intended.

In fact, as these charts show, it has already expanded beyond what Congress surely originally envisioned and, in the process, has created a terrible fiscal problem for the United States. (These charts and graphics come from a briefing today here at AEI, conducted by Gary Alexander, secretary of public welfare for Pennsylvania.)

 

A few scary factoids:

 

 

In the 1960s, there were 18 workers per Medicaid recipient. Today that number is 2.5.

The number of Americans on disability has risen 19% faster than jobs created during this recovery.

There are just 1.2 private sector workers per 1 person on welfare or working for government.

There are now just 1.65 employed persons in private sector per 1 person on welfare assistance.

There follows a series of charts that are even more terrifying than the factoids, so please read the whole thing. And then think about this: what happens to a nation when the Party of Take becomes bigger than the Party of Give?

[Valin]

@Geee

 

With respect to Mr. Walsh, I REFUSE to be pessimistic.

 

Here is the problem I have with this and to be honest so much of the right wing punditry...they are looking at the trees and not the forest. Yes Yes Yes, all these things are happening...but only a few are asking Why, and What will happen? The system we have been operating under for the last 100 (?) years is collapsing. Collapsing under the weight of its own success, make no mistake in many many ways it has been very successful. But now it has become to big, to expensive, to intrusive, to unwieldy to respond to the changes it has brought about.

 

There are only a few national figures (at least that I have found) that are looking at what is really happening, and thinking about it.

 

Here we see one.

 

 

Others would be Walter Russell Mead (see Blue Social Model Newt Gingrich (one of the reasons I supported him) and the guy who set this whole view of mine Gary Hart (yes That Gary Hart) See my series Are we living on the hinge of history?

 

I would highly recommend Mr. Walsh and others do some real thinking real studying and read some damn history, before they go all doom and gloom on us.

/rant.