"Welfare State: Handouts Make Up One-Third of U.S. Wages"

[WinkyDink]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41969508
Government payouts—including Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance—make up more than a third of total wages and salaries of the U.S. population, a record figure that will only increase if action isn’t taken before the majority of Baby Boomers enter retirement.

Even as the economy has recovered, social welfare benefits make up 35 percent of wages and salaries this year, up from 21 percent in 2000 and 10 percent in 1960, according to TrimTabs Investment Research using Bureau of Economic Analysis data.

“The U.S. economy has become alarmingly dependent on government stimulus,” said Madeline Schnapp, director of Macroeconomic Research at TrimTabs, in a note to clients. “Consumption supported by wages and salaries is a much stronger foundation for economic growth than consumption based on social welfare benefits......

The economist gives the country two stark choices. In order to get welfare back to its pre-recession ratio of 26 percent of pay, “either wages and salaries would have to increase $2.3 trillion, or 35 percent, to $8.8 trillion, or social welfare benefits would have to decline $500 billion, or 23 percent, to $1.7 trillion,” she said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOW S.S. = "WELFARE."

[Vincardog]

1. Don't ya think the answer is to increase salaries until whatever ratio is desired is reached?

[Egalitariat]

15. Wouldn't work. Rising wages (without a corresponding productivity gain) would create inflation

that would necessitate a corresponding rise in the government payouts.

[Vincardog]

16. We have had VAST productivity gains for the last 30 years and the money all went to the top. We need

MORE for the workers. That inflation claim is inflated.

[inademv]

2. Funny how

they didn't count business subsidies and tax benefits in that figure.

[WinkyDink]

5. Or bail-outs!

[alphafemale]

14. Hey. Wages is not the same thing as income.

The top 2 percent or so still have the staggering amount of income. And SSI is not a handout anyway.

[Mister Ed]

3. That Social Security Fund you've paid into all your life? Now it's "welfare"?

The article's author also seems to miss the obvious fact that the reason people are collecting government payments instead of wages is that the Coporatocracy shipped their jobs overseas and then crashed the economy, causing even further unemployment!

:mad: :grr:

[area51]

18. +1 n/t

[global1]

4. How Much Of This Total Is From Unemployment Insurance?......

Strikes me that due to the recession that this country was thrust into because of Wall St, the Banksters and BushCo/Repugs - unemployment went up to astronomical heights. How much will this number go down if we get people employed again?

In my mind everything revolves around 'jobs'. Jobs are the engine of growth out of most of our problems. Instead of companies laying people off, making them redundant or just plain firing them - they need to start hiring. I'll say it again - as people start feeling good about themselves knowing that they have income coming in - they will start to go to restaurants, theater's, on vacation, spend money on remodeling, cars, appliances. Once this starts happening - more people will need to be employed to replace what was sold and to service the people that are coming back into the system. Those people in turn will start feeling good about themselves and will start spending their money and further fuel the engine. This is the only way I see us climbing out of this hole we're in. Everything will start falling into place. Taxes will be generated. States will be able to start seeing some relief.

Everything in my mind revolves around the jobs. We need a 'jobs telethon'. We need to create an image that hiring people and putting them back to work is patriotic. We need some kind of campaign to do that. Firing people is un-american. Farming jobs out overseas is un-american.

We need to drive this message through to employers and businesses all over this country. We don't generate jobs by giving tax breaks to the rich.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

7. Of course employing people in other countries is "un-American".

That doesn't mean it's bad.

I'm all in favour of attempts to improve living standards in the USA, but not at the expense of reducing them elsewhere.

[KamaAina]

6. I'll take Door No. 1, Monty!

wages and salaries would have to increase $2.3 trillion, or 35 percent, to $8.8 trillion,

[and-justice-for-all]

8. Because the pukes are not happy until their definition..

of "undiserrables" have been removed from society. They would love to see grandma and grandpa work themselves to death. This type of shit is nothing short of a republicans final solution. Not all those people using those social services are welfare leaches, so people have no choice, because they can not work due to disablity or medical consition.

[county worker]

9. We pay into Medicare and Social Security with each paycheck.. Employers pay for federal and state

unemployment.

None of that is welfare!

Fuck you repukes!

What has happened is that the repukes have spent that money and owe it to us. They don't want to pay us back so the spread the lie that it is welfare.

[Lorien]

10. We pay for it and we later collect it-then put it right back into te economy

unlike the fraudsters on Wall Street (HALF of all income or more) who take government money-then loan it back to the government with interest and give themselves massive bonuses for the scam!

[Wednesdays]

11. "Now S.S. = 'Welfare.'" NO -- NOW S.S. = "HANDOUTS"

Never mind the recipients spent a whole lifetime working and paying into the system.
:eyes:

[Kat45]

12. Um, yeah, wages and salaries have to increase.

Task number one create a lot of new jobs.
Task number two, pay a living wage for those jobs.

[RainDog]

13. If wages are too low - and companies refuse to pay a living wage

people have to resort to assistance to meet basic needs.

People working service sector jobs generally do not make enough to survive on their salaries - so some companies use the U.S. govt to help them make a profit by refusing to pay salaries that make it possible for people to afford health care, food and a place to live.

that's the reality for some people.

[HughBeaumont]

17. CNBC = Faux "News" Financial.

Of course they're going to pull this bullshit line that something you pay into your whole life is now called "WELFARE!!"

[GeorgeGist]

19. Then create some jobs ....

asswipes.