The Government vs. the American Character|5 Minute Video
Over the past 50 years, the purpose of the American federal government has significantly transformed. Whereas its main goal in domestic matters utilized to be to secure liberty, the government is now a privileges maker, moving over $2 trillion annually from some individuals’s pockets to others. Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute discusses how the surges in social security, medicare, medicaid, and other welfare programs are altering the American character for the worse– from one that is focused on private responsibility and providing, to one that is concentrated on getting as much of the pie as possible.
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Script:
Over the past 50 years, the function of the American government has actually gone through an extreme improvement. Much so, that even Franklin Roosevelt wouldn’t acknowledge it, let alone Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson.
Once appreciated for the minor role it played in people’ lives, the American federal government, both federal and state, has ended up being, within living memory, a vast entitlements device whose primary function is to give benefits.
Federal and state federal governments now commit more attention and resources to the public transfer of money, services and products to private citizens than to anything else.
By 2010 privilege payments represented about two-thirds of all federal costs, with all other obligations of the federal government– in other words, all the things federal government should do– comprising hardly one-third.
According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 1960 U.S. federal government transfers to people amounted to about 24 billion in present dollars. By 2010 that total was practically 100 times bigger or $2.2 trillion. After adjusting for inflation and population development, 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 rather just recently, Americans were concerned, both at home and abroad, as remarkable in a variety of ways. Among these was their strong self-reliance, which informed not only the style of the political experiment that is the U.S. Constitution, but also Americans’ method to daily affairs. Particularly, this indicated an affinity for individual business, a scary of reliance and a contempt for anything that resembled a hand out.
Conquering this historical cultural resistance to accepting federal government aid has actually not been simple. It has actually been attained. Far from providing embarassment, accepting government help is now considered regular, even preferable.
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source
Over the past 50 years, the purpose of the American government has actually radically changed. Whereas its main objective in domestic matters used to be to safeguard liberty, the government is now an entitlements device, transferring over $2 trillion per year from some individuals’s pockets to others. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 1960 U.S. government transfers to people totaled about 24 billion in existing dollars. Overcoming this historic cultural resistance to accepting government help has actually not been simple. Far from being a source of embarassment, accepting federal government help is now considered regular, even preferable.
