The Government vs. the American Character | 5 Minute Video
Over the past 50 years, the purpose of the American government has radically transformed. Whereas its main goal in domestic matters used to be to protect liberty, the government is now an entitlements machine, transferring over $2 trillion per year from some people’s pockets to others. Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute explains how the explosions in social security, medicare, medicaid, and other welfare programs are changing the American character for the worse–from one that is focused on individual responsibility and giving, to one that is focused on grabbing as much of the pie as possible.
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Script:
Over the past 50 years, the purpose of the American government has undergone a radical transformation. So much so, that even Franklin Roosevelt wouldn’t recognize it, let alone Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson.
Once admired for the minor role it played in citizens’ lives, the American government, both federal and state, has become, within living memory, a vast entitlements machine whose primary function is to dispense benefits.
Indeed, federal and state governments now devote more attention and resources to the public transfer of money, goods and services to individual citizens than to anything else.
By 2010 entitlement payments accounted for about two-thirds of all federal spending, with all other responsibilities of the federal government — in other words, all the things government should do — making up barely one-third.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 1960 U.S. government transfers to individuals totaled about 24 billion in current dollars. By 2010 that total was almost 100 times larger or $2.2 trillion. After adjusting for inflation and population growth, that was still an increase of 727%.
What does this all this mean? And what is the consequence?
From the founding of our nation until quite recently, Americans were regarded, both at home and abroad, as exceptional in a number of ways. One of these was their fierce independence, which informed not only the design of the political experiment that is the U.S. Constitution, but also Americans’ approach to everyday affairs. Specifically, this meant an affinity for personal enterprise, a horror of dependency and a disdain for anything that smacked of a hand out.
Overcoming this historic cultural resistance to accepting government aid has not been easy. But it has been achieved. Far from being a source of shame, accepting government aid is now considered normal, even desirable.
For the complete script, visit https://www.prageru.com/videos/government-vs-american-character
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Right after the video was an ad for a new American benefit program.
this is why universal sufferage doesn't work, if let every dreg vote they will vote themselves your wallets, democracy should be limited to only the exceptional members who contribute
"Everything woke turns to shxt!"
~ Donald J. Trump.
When I grew up (the 1950's) NO ONE expected a free "hand-out" from the government! We took responsibility for ourselves and our families. And got by best we could. As a child, my Siblings and I took turns tending the family vegetable garden. And we lived mostly out of our garden or root cellar for years.
It taught us self-reliance. And made us better prepared for many future hardships that life would throw at us later. Far too many of today's youth would be totally useless in a real national crisis. They have had it soft and are spoiled!
Sitting on your fannie playing computer games DOES NOT prepare you for REAL LIFE!!!
Why the USA will eventually die unless things change.
When most of the money in the U.S. is owned by just a handful of people the rest already know there is no use in trying. If you want true reform you have to treat the rich the same as you do the poor! And remember the true power is with the people and never against!
Get rid of all social programs
I dislike 30+ minute PragerU advertisements.
https://youtu.be/tUtrg4tmYTw
End all programs except for the national army.
There's a difference between the American people and the American government. This is not going to go well in politics over the next few months.
Give them government hand outs but if they work or do successful business
I'm from the government and I'm here to help…raise your expectations and decrease your sense of contentment by just giving you stuff instead of letting/making you earn it.
This video openly promotes party division and strife. His Holiness Pope Leo XIII most wisely taught, in these two paragraphs, that political parties and factions are not advisable.
Paragraph 8: "… Suspicion and lack of trust often result from the rivalry of political parties…. Everyone may hold his own opinion in purely political matters and defend it honestly and legitimately, provided it is not contrary to religion or justice. Yet those, if there are any, who do not distinguish clearly between what is holy and what is merely civil, commit a pernicious error which lends the name of religion to a political party."
Paragraph 15: "… You can see that fickle suspicion and rash accusations are detrimental indeed to fraternal love. From this you can understand the injustice of those who, in favoring one political party, do not hesitate in matters of religion to accuse others of unorthodoxy. They do this only because they belong to another party, as though orthodox Catholic faith is necessarily the prerogative of this or that political party…."
http://w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_14091886_pergrata.html
Saint Pius X most wisely taught that parties and factions are not advisable.
Paragraph 7: "… The desire for peace is certainly harbored in every breast, and there is no one who does not ardently invoke it. But to want peace without God is an absurdity, seeing that where God is absent thence too justice flies, and when justice is taken away it is vain to cherish the hope of peace. "Peace is the work of justice" (Is. xxii., 17). There are many, We are well aware, who, in their yearning for peace, that is for the tranquillity of order, band themselves into societies and parties, which they style parties of order. Hope and labor lost. For there is but one party of order capable of restoring peace in the midst of all this turmoil, and that is the party of God. It is this party, therefore, that we must advance, and to it attract as many as possible, if we are really urged by the love of peace."
http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-x/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-x_enc_04101903_e-supremi.html
Christus vincit
Christus regnat
Christus imperat
In other words people on welfare need to get off welfare especially the ones who have ability to work
It's no different when the government gave women the right to vote but did not make them sign up for the draft; you know like men are legally required to do or men go to jail, no college loans & grants and they will lose their right vote! Government entitlements is total BS.
"In the last 50 years….." Translation: An attack on the civil rights gains of the 60s….!
Generosity needs to be in quotation marks.
Perhaps someone in government has realized that, due to corporate greed, real wages have decreased to the point where tens of millions of people cannot make ends meet without entitlements. It could be that entitlements are the only thing keeping the country from devolving into anarchy where mobs of starving people raid the homes of the rich in order to survive. If that is the case, then entitlements are serving the purpose of protecting the country from chaos and ruin. If employers willingly paid their workers a living wage, the people would not need to petition the government for entitlements and fewer people would champion socialist policies. Look in the mirror captains of industry and see if you can find the answer to the problem.
TRUMP SHOULDN'T SAY MAKE AMERICAN GREAT AGAIN… BUT MAKE AMERICA "O'ER THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE" AGAIN!!! AND STAR SPANGLED BANNER IN TRIUMPH WE HAIL. BY THEN, AMERICA WILL BE GREAT AGAIN.
Your argument is undermined by your lack of specific examples and citations. You could have given specific examples of the “government benefits” (did you mean social security, welfare, college student loans, or something else). Because you gave no specific examples, I have no idea what exactly you are talking about and therefore cannot agree or disagree with your statements about the detriments of government benefits. Sure you can definitely say that government benefits cause debt accumulation, but without analyzing a specific government benefit, I can’t decide whether such benefits are necessary or obsolete and thus whether or not we should eliminate, reduce, or continue them.
You also do not cite any sources when discussed the budget or the thinking of the American people, so I can’t tell if what you are saying is misleading or even possibly incorrect (I can’t simply assume everything you say is true without proof with citations).
Warfare receipian should not able to vote until 2 years of self reliance has shown. Voting for their free handout is same as old Soviet union.
What did Madame Thatcher say, socialism works until you run out of OTHER people's money! Caveat Emptor!
Recipients of federal pay and benefits are liable for taxes on such receipts.
(paraphrase) "….the things government should do."
You're seriously using "should?" No rational person would try to argue anything by using such crude, loose language. It's evidence of problems in the logic behind the argument.
I disagree with this video in general. However, I don't like to turn things off because of that.
But when I got to "…. the things government should do," it was over.
WHY DOES THIS HAVE SO FEW VIEWS? THIS IS SUCH A MASSIVE ISSUE THAT EVERYONE SHOULD BE AWARE OF!!
So future generations are screwed
I realized this years ago; you just confirmed my suspicion. Thanks for the wonderful vid.
This is why BLM blames everything on white folk.
EXCELLENT! well said! I belive that whole heartedly! ! THANK YOU!
I feel like my fellow 20-somethings are acting like super shitheads.
Errbody on that aid.
People less dependent on Government, government has more money and can pay off debts, easy to say, hard to follow.
Just like Japan, in a way that they are independent and disciplined.
This is all Good. If the Government doesn't want to pay my Social Security, then return the money that I worked for and was required to pay into Social Security. Otherwise, Shut Up and keep your part of the bargain.
This sounds like an argument for austerity while the banksters who created the warfare-welfare state go free for using the federal reserve to manipulate economic policy in order to line their pockets. The baby boomer generation is nothing new&they deserve to reap what they were coerced to pay into(SSI). The real issue is sound monetary policy&less adventurism abroad. Geeze, I sound like Ron Paul&I'm not even warmed up.
"Muricans were regarder as exeptional".
No, you were not, and you surely aren't now.
Muricans are the only one believing to be special.
Not different from Aryan racism to me.
"The Dollar remains the most trusted courrency"
LOL, nope.
Euro is valued more, by far.
Unless the Governments enacts a policy to tax automated services the decreasing percentage of responsible citizens will not be able to support the ever increasing dependents on governmental programs funded today in the USA by mostly borrowed money.
If you are paying someone your money, shouldn't you demand something in return? Tax money=free healthcare, medicare, education, infrastructure improvement, research improvement?
Why does a cartoon John Adams pop up when he says "…let alone Lincoln and Jefferson"? lol Another great vid by pruger U
I agree that a big government is terrible, but we can not be fundamentalists on that (I hate fundamentalism, and I believe you guys also do): education, for instance, should be good and universal; and there should be a more careful treatment regarding healthcare (I'm not saying it should be all public, I'm only saying it is not so simple to just leave to the private initiative – just think about a dead body on the street and what would happen to it if only private companies took care of people's health).
Plenty of countries have succeeded at having welfare/benefits and good social systems. The problem with America is that there wasn't a sense of civic duty to prevent people from just exploiting it and that most of these systems didn't solve the problems, just dealt with the consequences. For example, instead of dealing with poverty and illiteracy in black communities they just lowered standards and focused on increasing diversity. Europes system is falling apart right now because of irresponsibility and immigrants from countries that don't care about their countries of migration.
DEMOCRATS DESTROY WEALTH AND FREEDOM.
Yeah this guy is a propaganda tool the only thing he got right was the debt is a problem. Though some of what he said is sound barring his over simplification and bogus math. If we want to get back on track we will have to cut spending both in military spending and entitlements. Also we do need some welfare reform especially corporate welfare. Also we as Americans will need to start buying more American made products at higher prices so that more companies will be willing to pay living wages. Until then stop shopping at Walmart so much and start going to Aldi and other stores that pay a solid Union wage. Yes it's not as convenient but your doing your part to keep your brother off welfare. If we did that more for awhile we could get more people willing to invest in America's industrial machine going again. We won't be able to compete globally since other countries use slave labor and other unfair advantages but if we just were more self sufficient in our products and consumption then we could get alot more jobs created and I honestly believe that there are alot of us out there that are willing to pay a little more for the same quality if they knew that It was made by Americans from start to finish
Wow…just jesus!
NO this Is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TRUE.. great video thank you
2/3rds is wrong. Does this guy even math?
Everyone knows that Prager 'University' was started by a conservative writer as a decidedly political tactic to 'educate' people in response to what he views as a bias against Judeo-Christian values, but is in actuality more or less just facts, right?
That aside, this video is just FULL of BS. I mean, he doesn't break down the pie chart, talk about income or wealth inequality, discuss the factors since the 60s that have encouraged (necessitated, really) the increased 'handouts,' shifting tax code and various loopholes, wage stagnation, and a dozen other critically important topics if you want an actual, functioning understanding of the economic issues and realities today, and just on this one topic.