Half of Americans Get Government Benefits

Newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that in the fourth quarter of 2011, nearly half of all Americans — 49.1 percent — received benefits from one or more government programs.

Out of a population then estimated to be 306.8 million, 151 million received benefits from at least one government agency.

More than 82 million people lived in a household in which one or more people received Medicaid benefits, and 46.4 million people got Medicare benefits.

Nearly 50 million people received Social Security payments, 49 million got food stamps, 20.2 million got Supplemental Security Income, 13.4 million lived in public or subsidized rental housing, 5 million received unemployment compensation, and 3.1 million got veterans' compensation.

About 23.2 million people were in the Women, Infants, and Children program, and 5.8 million received benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, according to the data released on Oct. 22.

Other funds paid out in the last three months of that year include those for Railroad Retirement benefits, workers' compensation, and veterans' educational assistance.

The figures for means-tested programs such as food stamps and Supplemental Security Income include anyone residing in a household in which one or more people received benefits from the program.

The Census Bureau also reported that out of 118.8 million U.S. households, 29.5 percent received Medicare benefits, 20 percent got Medicaid benefits, and 32 percent received Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits.

Also, 15.4 million households, or 13 percent of the total, received food stamps.

When and if Obamacare is fully implemented next year, a new benefit program will begin — Americans earning up to 400 percent of the poverty level for their households will qualify for a federal subsidy to purchase health insurance.

Who is that girl? The mysterious face of Healthcare.gov

You can bet she is not out there seeking autographs!

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER

Harry Reid says that Republicans will have to agree to tax increases to have any hope of achieving a grand budget bargain, saying Americans, 'including the rich,' are willing to pay more.

Bailey Comment: Does the statement Americans willing to pay more include all of the non working leaches that are sucking us dry already?

New Unemployment Data Reveals a Depressing State of Affairs

After a two-week delay, thanks to the good old government shutdown, the September jobs report was released on Tuesday.
The big takeaway – at least, according to most mainstream media outlets like The Wall Street Journal – is that the unemployment rate dropped from 7.3% to 7.2%.
Keep in mind, only four years ago, the headline unemployment rate stood at a staggering 10%.
So the labor market is improving, right? Wrong!
The official government unemployment rate is nothing but a statistical deception.
With that in mind, it’s time to serve up a big dollop of truth with the help of a timely chart. Not only can you handle it, you deserve it!
The true unemployment situation holds profound investment implications.
Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
The U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in September.
Economists expected more (180,000). But the August number was revised up by 24,000 jobs.
So no one really panicked about the miss. Especially since the unemployment rate managed to tick a tenth of a percentage point lower.
Here’s the problem…
You’d think a downtick in the unemployment rate would mean that more people are employed.
However, there actually aren’t more people working. Not when we dissect the data based on the percentage of able-bodied Americans.
Turns out, the number of Americans 16 years or older who have decided not to participate in the nation’s labor force increased by another 136,000 in September.
All told, a record 90,609,000 Americans don’t have a job – and aren’t looking for one, either.
In turn, the labor force participation rate (the percentage of Americans who have a job or are looking for one) stands at a 34-year low.
A simple chart really drives home the depressing state of affairs.

As you can see, in previous post-recession periods, the precipitous drop in the unemployment rate was always accompanied by an increase in the labor force participation rate.
In other words, the economy was improving so much – and so many new jobs were being created – that it enticed people who previously stopped looking for work to dust off their resumes. And not only did they start looking for work again, they found it.
Not this time around.
The economy might be adding jobs, but it’s not adding enough to keep up with the growth in available workers. So the drop in the unemployment rate is a total fraud. It has materialized based on more and more people opting out of finding work, instead of actually finding it.
As James Pethokoukis from the American Enterprise Institute points out, if the labor participation rate was the same today as it was when the recession started, the unemployment rate would actually be 11.2% right now, not 7.2%.
How’s that for some truth?

Zombie.gov

Pinhead Jay Carney

Sebelius says she doesn't 'work for' those calling for her resignation

Bailey Comment: This one example of many just shows you how self-center all of these politicians are. 
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is rebuffing calls from Republicans for her to resign over the troubled launch of the ObamaCare sign-up website, saying those asking her to resign are “people I don’t work for.”
Sebelius gave the comments on a tour Thursday of an ObamaCare call center in Phoenix, which kicks off a multi-city tour by administration officials to promote the health care law amid the website's troubles.
Sebelius said “no one is getting fired” over the litches and that her main focus is to get the website up and running.
“The majority of people calling for me to resign I would say are people who I don't work for, and who do not want this program to work in the first place,” she said. “I have had frequent conversations with the president and I've committed to him that my role is to get the program up and running and we will do just that.”
Sebelius’ comments come after Rep. John Fleming, R-La., sent a letter to President Obama signed by 33 Republican members of Congress calling for Sebelius’ resignation over the troubled health care law roll out.
“It’s clear that Secretary Sebelius has mismanaged the ObamaCare roll out and is in over her head. Before the train wreck is allowed to continue… before more taxpayer dollars are spent trying to fix what’s already wrong… and before the Secretary continues on her damage control tour, it’s time for the president to admit that, despite three-and-a-half years to prepare, his HHS Secretary has dropped the ball on this and needs to step down,” the letter reads.
Also Thursday, the contractors who built the health care website defended their work at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and claimed the government failed to properly test the system before launch.
CGI Federal and the other contractors repeatedly claimed that overall "end-to-end" testing was the responsibility of an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, as was the decision to go live on Oct. 1. They suggested more time was needed to work out the kinks.
Sebelius came under fire after telling the House Energy and Commerce Committee she was not also available to testify Thursday due to a “scheduling conflict,” but then travelling to Phoenix.
Sebelius was already taking heat for snubbing the committee while planning to attend a health care gala in Boston on Wednesday night.
It's unclear whether Sebelius' "scheduling conflict" was the gala, the Phoenix event or neither.
The committee says Sebelius is now expected to testify next Wednesday on the health care law.