Gadsden Post: Half of U.S. Households Took Government Benefits in 2010 - Derek Thompson - Business

While I don't agree with the author's conclusion is thought provoking...

A record-high 49% of the population lived in a household receiving some type of government benefit in the second quarter of 2010, according to Census data reported by the Wall Street Journal. Most of this group received so-called "means tested" benefits like food stamps, subsidized housing or Medicaid. Many are also benefiting from unemployment insurance spending, which has quadrupled since the downturn.

This is the sort of figure I call a Rorschach Statistic, because (a) it's guaranteed to provoke a passionate reaction and (b) that reaction will say a lot about your politics. Liberals are more likely to see this as a symptom of a very sick labor force begging for help. Conservatives are more likely to see it as a symptom of a very sick government that is drowning in bloat and addicted to redistribution.

Both sides have a case. The labor force is indeed quite sick, with a dismal share of working-age adults participating in the economy. But even most liberals would agree that the projected growth of Medicare and Medicaid scream out for a major reform, or at least a tax hike, in the next few years.