Debunking the callous-America myth

Over at Mirror of Justice, Greg Sisk takes down the liberal canard that the United States of America has failed to commit financial resources to development of its poor. Unlike his intellectual opponents, he uses facts. Lots of them.

For example, government spending in 2007 consumed $4.9 trillion, 35.9% of our gross domestic product. Sisk states, "Of that government spending, social spending constituted some 55.8 percent of total spending, totaling more than $2.88 trillion."

Think about that number for a moment. That's "trillion" with a "t". Furthermore, Sisk points out that "the percentage of the federal budget devoted to defense has plummeted while social spending has skyrocketed."

Finally, the average American begins working on January 2 each year and doesn't start taking money home until May 1. Everything she earns before May 1 goes to the government. And while she is not taking money home, she is not able to give to charitable organizations, which are able to help the poor much more effectively than government bureaucrats. This graph effectively illustrates the problem:



It is worth noting that Barack Obama proposes to make this problem worse by increasing expenditures on federal entitlements for the poor. In short, the claim that America is not serious about assisting the poor and needs to take a more liberal, compassionate (profligate) posture toward state spending is hogwash.