December 12, 2022

Planned Dependency

The more lavish government benefits become, the more people choose not to work for a living.

Where are all the workers? We asked that question more than a year ago as the economy continued to struggle with millions of unfilled jobs while millions of workers sat on the sidelines. Workforce participation in November was at 62.1%, a far cry below the pre-pandemic level of 63.4%. In other words, after more than a year of steady job growth, the overall jobs picture is still more or less the same.

In September, Joe Biden declared that “the pandemic is over.” In October, his administration extended the COVID public health emergency through January 11 and plans another 90-day extension after that. So, the pandemic is not over — at least in terms of the exercise of massive government power.

Biden’s declaration keeps open access to taxpayer-funded schemes for income redistribution that help workers stay on the sidelines, which exacerbates inflation and supply chain issues, as well as stirs continued fears of recession. Millions of job openings mean employers have to pay more to entice prospective employees, which then leads to higher prices, which means wages have to grow. It’s a vicious cycle.

Millions of Americans permanently left the workforce by way of retirement in the last couple of years, though thanks to the stock market’s disastrous performance, many were forced to take jobs once again. Others relied on the flood of pandemic cash both Donald Trump and Joe Biden spearheaded. Personal savings reached a record in early 2021, and some folks figured out a way to change lifestyles and make things work — for a while. Inflation quickly ate up that savings and, as of November, the personal savings rate is the lowest in two decades.

Many Americans found ways to be self-employed, too, and some of those jobs aren’t counted in the employment picture. Other households dropped from two incomes to one. Since the pandemic began, the labor participation rate fell five percentage points for women aged 25-34.

It’s not just women, though, and it didn’t start with the pandemic. “Consider that in 1962, about 97% of men ages 25 to 54 were working or looking for work,” writes analyst Matt Lamb. “Today, that number is closer to 89%.” There’s a growing subculture of shirking work.

Let’s come back around to the extension of lavish government benefits via pandemic emergency declarations. The federal government now spends $9.3 billion every month on food stamps, which is more than double what it was before the pandemic.

Likewise, Medicaid has ballooned. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, for example, gave billions in Medicaid and food-stamp funding to states conditional on not restricting rolls to exclude ineligible Americans such as able-bodied, working-age adults. Predictably, Medicaid enrollment swelled to 97 million — nearly one in three Americans — growing by 23 million over two-plus years. Roughly that many don’t meet eligibility requirements, but they can stay enrolled thanks to the pandemic emergency declaration.

There is hope, however. A number of Republican-led states are fighting to undo the pattern of government dependency the Left has exacerbated. Georgia just won a lawsuit against the administration over Medicaid eligibility requirements. Other red states have foregone enhanced food stamps. In large measure as a result of Republican policy choices, most of the job growth around the country since the pandemic shutdowns has been in red states.

If government officials, especially at the state level, enact policies favoring the free market, more Americans will go back to work. The more Americans go back to work, the quicker our supply chain problems will ease and inflation will slow. It’s amazing what humans can accomplish if we work for it.

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.