Recovery? Half of American Households Living on Government Benefits
[Townhall.com]
Kate Hicks – Web Editor, Townhall.com
May 26, 2012 12:43 PM EST
Some astoundingly grim news on the “economic recovery” front: half of American households are receiving government funds to support themselves. No matter which way you slice it, this number isn’t good news for the Obama administration — they can spin the jobs numbers by ignoring the number of people who dropped out of the workforce, but this statistic is pretty straightforward.
The 49.1% of the population in a household that gets benefits is up from 30% in the early 1980s and 44.4% as recently as the third quarter of 2008.
The increase in recent years is likely due in large part to the lingering effects of the recession. As of early 2011, 15% of people lived in a household that received food stamps, 26% had someone enrolled in Medicaid and 2% had a member receiving unemployment benefits. Families doubling up to save money or pool expenses also is likely leading to more multigenerational households. But even without the effects of the recession, there would be a larger reliance on government.
Postal Service offers buyouts, with $15K incentive in latest cost-cutting plan
[FoxNews.com]
Published May 26, 2012
The U.S. Postal Service announced late Friday it would offer thousands of mail-handlers a $15,000 incentive to retire early, the most recent attempt by the financially-strapped agency to cut costs and stay open for business.
The voluntary offer was extended to roughly 45,000 full-time union employees. It is part of the agency’s larger plan to cut its workforce by 150,000 over the next three years and close hundreds of mail-procession centers.
Postal officials said such changes are necessary as a result of the recession and because Americans continue to pay bills and perform other, similar tasks online, instead of doing them through the mail.
Officials said 60 percent of Americans now pay their bills online, compared to just 5 percent in 2000. They also said mail volume peaked at 213 billion in 2006, but has since plummeted by more than 25 percent.
Official also have said the congressional mandate to pre-fund retirement health care benefits has contributed to financial problems.
The agency reportedly lost more than $6 billion in the first two quarters of fiscal 2012.
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