Dependency Index Sees Biggest Jump Since Jimmy Carter

Obama has gotten a lot of things done since taking office.  Like seeing the national Dependency Index increase by 23%, the biggest two year jump since the original malaise president, Jimmy Carter.

The rise was driven mainly by increases in housing subsidies, an expansion in Medicaid and changes to the welfare system, along with a sharp rise in food stamps.

Dependence on the government has climbed steadily since 1962, when the index stood at 19. By 1980, the index had risen to 100. It stood at 294 in 2010, the last year for which the data are available. The Heritage Foundation has produced the index for nine years.

And fewer Americans pay income taxes, the report notes. Almost half (49.5%) didn't pay income taxes in 2009, the latest year for which the researchers have data. Back in the late 1960s, only 12% of Americans escaped the income tax burden.

For more see this source article.