AMERICAN RELIANCE ON GOVERNMENT AT ALL-TIME HIGH

(Washington Times) -- WashingtonTimes.com reports that the current recession "has left Americans depending on the government dole like never before," as transfer payments "from the government -- such as unemployment checks and Social Security -- burgeoned by $231 billion to $2.1 trillion" in 2009. The story notes that "for the first time since the Great Depression, Americans took more aid from the government than they paid in taxes." According to the Times, "the tentative revival of consumer spending in the second half of last year appears to have been fed largely by an extraordinary flood of government spending," while a respected economist says the current "situation is unsustainable." See that article in the Washington Times at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/01/americans-reliance-on-government-at-all-time-high/