Distribution of Wealth (Part IX)

Pictured Above: The Cost Of Government Cheese

I came across an interesting article (scroll to the bottom and click on the link to view it in its entirety) that discusses issues of wealth distribution and the growing class of Americans who receive far more in government services than they pay in taxes.

The figures provided state that a two-parent household on average faces an $8,801 tax burden and a single-parent-household enjoys a $4,141 subsidy. These figures are from 1999 and I am quite certain that they have become more dramatic since then, because of the growth of entitlements coupled with a notable increase in the number of single-parent-households. And if we continue on the current trajectory,

The author shows in clear numbers that the largest factor in determining if a household is of the funding class or the recipient class is if it is headed by a single parent. He makes a compelling argument that the rate of single-parenthood among Asians, Whites, Hispanics and African-Americans is a major factor in the different rates of inclusion of each of the said groups in the recipient class.

He presents the brutally honest assessment that given the rising rate of single-parenthood among Latinos (from 36.7% to nearly 50% in only 10 years), the projected increase in the Latino population will equal an increase in the recipient class. And as the recipient class grows in size, so will it grow in political power, which makes it extremely likely that entitlements and the transference of wealth will only grow.

In addition he points out that as the ration of the providing to the recipient class grows, we will simultaneously face an increase demand for welfare with a decrease in our capacity to fund it. The author expresses this in the following paragraph:

"Will we be able to support the recipient class when they are the majority? Will the recipient class tolerate any discussion of reducing payouts or the need for payouts when they are in control? Latin American countries provide almost no welfare benefits. The ratio between the likely provider and the likely recipients is so large in these countries that U.S. style welfare payments are unthinkable. As America becomes more Latin American, we will also be faced with the need to become more Latin American in our welfare policy, with the inevitable spectacle of destitution which overwhelms Latin America."

http://www.success-and-culture.net/articles/recip.shtml