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Obama’s America: From World Superpower to Welfare State

Feb. 7, 2013 1:00pm
Kayleigh McEnany is a writer and political activist who founded RealReaganConservative.com. She is also a contributor to the International Business Times. She  […]
Kayleigh McEnany is a writer and political activist who founded RealReaganConservative.com. She is also a contributor to the International Business Times. She graduated from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and studied at Oxford University.
[ x ]
realreaganconservative@gmail.com
Author's Website

America finally knows what President Obama meant when he said he intended to “fundamentally transform America.”  He aimed to make this country unrecognizable to its Founding Fathers, and he’s done just that.

Obama has reversed the role of the federal government – instead of looking like the world’s hegemonic superpower, we look more like the world’s most innovative social welfare state to be envied by all of Western Europe.

This year defense spending will sink to its lowest levels in our nation’s history; meanwhile, entitlement spending will reach new highs.

This is part of an astounding overall trend in our federal government’s spending habits. The Heritage Foundation reports, “Defense spending has declined significantly over time, even when the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are included, as spending on the three major entitlements—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—has more than tripled.”

In 2012 alone, Heritage reveals an immense gap between defense and entitlement spending—defense comprised 19% of total outlays, while entitlements reached a gargantuan 62% of federal spending.

This is a complete perversion of what the Founding Fathers intended.

As former Senator James Talent wrote, providing for the common defense is the “priority job” and “the only mandatory function” of the federal government.

He wrote in the Heritage Foundation, “Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution lists 17 separate powers that are granted to Congress.  Six of those powers deal exclusively with the national defense—far more than any other specific area of governance….”

Indeed, America’s early presidents and Congresses respected and stayed true to this bedrock conception of the federal government.

The Office of Management and Budget acknowledges before the 1930s, most federal spending went toward “national defense, veterans’ benefits, and interest on the public debt,” and in 1929, “71 percent of federal outlays fell into these categories.”

But, today, the opposite holds true.  Our federal government devotes nearly that same amount to the welfare state even though the Constitution only makes a cursory mention of providing for the general welfare.

Taken together, our country has strayed perilously far from the America our Founding Fathers envisioned, and in doing so, we are expediting our fall from greatness.

Where is the America that toppled the Soviet Union, put the first man on the moon, and conquered the great frontier?  That America is quickly becoming a distant memory.

Instead, we are striving to become a liberal Utopia, all the while ignoring that this sort of idealism precipitated the all-consuming debt and economic travails we see just across the Atlantic Ocean.

America must reject the premise that our Constitution is outdated, cliché and therefore invalid and demand that our government reflect the core principles that made us the greatest nation on earth.

It’s time to thwart Obama’s twisted plan or perhaps the foreboding words of President Ronald Reagan will one day ring true:  “We’re in greater danger today than we were the day after Pearl Harbor.  Our military is absolutely incapable of defending this country.”

 

Comments (64)

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  • BigBadBob2490
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 2:46pm

    Sigh. When my generation under Regan broke the Iron Curtain and liberated Eastern Europe and wept with joy at the rejoining of East & West Germany, we thought the great struggle of our professional lifetimes was won at lost. Then came Comrade Clinton and his old cadre of American Marxist traitors. Then came the so-called war on terror followed by this skinny lying sh*tsack named Barry Sotero/Barry Hussein Obama. Now, the Socialist Tyrants have arisen in our very midst, the barbarians inside our own gates and the great war is not overseas but here within our own homelands. Rather than retire in peace, we old grey wolves must rouse ourselves once again to face down the Dark Prince and his impending Evil Hordes. This ain’t a comic book or video game, this is the real deal in real time. You know, you can play with the little ignorant puppies all you want, Dark One, but you mess with the old grey wolves, you’re gonna get bit. Sigh, once again into the breach, lads, just one more time…

    Report this comment

    BigBadBob2490  
    • BigBadBob2490
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 2:59pm

      Yeah, I see I meant to spell him Reagan and “won at last”. My misspellings betray my state of mind at the present menace to the Republic.

      Report this comment

      BigBadBob2490  
    • kat747
      Posted on February 11, 2013 at 12:32pm

      Haven’t found any legal paperwork yet changing his name from Dunham to Soetoro, but anyway……
      glad to hear there is a lot of life let in the “ol grey wolves”. Wait until you wolves meet the sleeping giant who is awake.

      Report this comment

      kat747  
  • Chuck T
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 12:12pm

    We live in dangerous times. Ironic, especially considering until just a few years ago, we were the world’s stabilizing force; militarily, diplomatically, economically, technically and culturally. All that has been destroyed…intentionally or negligently, the effect is the same. And those who are the cause are still at it, without remorse.

    Report this comment

    Chuck T  
  • M24
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 12:11pm

    Obama is Showing The rest of the world just how Worthless Nazi’s Live ,Obama Give’s The phrase Land Of The Free A whole New Meaning ,He Is The Most Destructive Human Being To Ever Step Foot In The White House . EVERYTHING HE Has Started Will Not Work ,Atleast Not For Long ,And The People Of this Country Is Letting Him Get away with It WTF??

    Report this comment

    M24  
  • Inform
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 10:45am

    A hundred and fifty years ago, if you didn’t go bust your ass in the field, you didn’t eat that day. Now, if you don’t want to work, you get public housing, section 8 reimbursements, food stamps, welfare and other entitlements. These of course are all paid for by those who have the tenacity to go to work each and every day and pay taxes. This tenacity is attacked when the incentives for not working are increased and the punishment for working are also increased (higher taxes). Therein lies the fundamental flaw for today’s politicians of an understanding of basic economics. If you subsidize something, you get more of it and if you tax it you get less of it. http://www.youargue.com/index.php/31bz1328

    Report this comment

    Inform  
  • term limits for congress
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 9:51am

    It could all be fixed if the rich people would pay their fair share. We can’t cut welfare, of course, because we know that women and children will die immediately. And who would we give the phones to?

    Report this comment

    term limits for congress  
  • progressiveslayer
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 9:50am

    If people would’ve checked out his past and his writings the Marxist would have never been elected.
    Okay for a little reality check,Barry was elected because Americans for the most part can’t be bothered with politics hell most people don’t even vote. When his policies start affecting their pocket books they’ll vote to take him out of power,that didn’t happen because we haven’t felt the real pain of his policies and it was structured that way. The taxes for the hideously named affordable healthcare act didn’t kick in until after he was reelected. His Marxist ideology compels him to ‘bring us down’ and that’s exactly what he’s doing with the expansion of the welfare/warfare state. The police state he’s perpetuating with drones over our skies to target and kill Americans is shocking indeed,a president with a ‘kill list’ unthinkable yet it’s true and it’s like a mafia don ordering hits. Americans cheer when these drones are used overseas not thinking they’ll be used against Americans someday but they will be and with NDAA the president can ‘deem’ you a terrorist and voila you’re dead. Pretty neat huh except if it’s your house he decides is a terrorist location. BHO is for total government control and it’s obvious,the state must control every aspect of our lives,in short it’s tyrannical. This quote is appropriate: The greatest advances of civilization, whether in architecture or painting, in science and literature, in industry or agriculture, have never co

    Report this comment

    progressiveslayer  
  • blackfeather
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 7:13am

    we get it…he is out to destroy america….period.

    Report this comment

    blackfeather  
    • battles
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 8:17am

      The only thing left for them to take is our guns and 30 round magazines.

      Report this comment

      battles  
    • mikem1969
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 8:37am

      You got it. We need to stand up and take our country back and force the government to abide by the constitution and its limits on government.

      Report this comment

      mikem1969  
    • carhouse
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 9:49am

      And his legacey hasnow been written.

      Report this comment

      carhouse  
  • GuruMeditation
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 7:01am

    “Woe to the land whose king is a child and whose leaders are already drunk in the morning. Happy the land whose king is a nobleman, and whose leaders work hard before they feast and drink, and then only to strengthen themselves for the tasks ahead”. (Eccl 10: 16-17)

    Report this comment

    GuruMeditation  
    • jwpowers41
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 10:00am

      obama the child president totally inept unqualified for the position a pathological liar and the enemy of the american people and a racist too

      Report this comment

      jwpowers41  
    • samurai2112
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:30pm

      Funny how history has shown over and over again what works and does not work yet we still make the same mistakes because of ignorance of historical facts.

      Report this comment

      samurai2112  
  • GuruMeditation
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 6:58am

    We the people are allowing this to happen. We must organize then mobilize and fight it!

    Report this comment

    GuruMeditation  
  • wordsofwisdom
    Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:52am

    I personally do not think this president is in any way working in our interest or the black mans interest. I think he is trying to just destroy the white mans world at any cost. He is deeply prejudice. He is so full of hate that he did not care what happened at Benghazi. I know that a lot of you refuse to connect his actions & deeds to reality but it is becoming too obvious. He is not a good person inside. His soul is defiled with a life of lies & deceit in his effort to destroy what is the greatest nation on the planet. The problem for him is that it was a white mans creation in his mind. Never mind that we are a nation of every race on the planet he only sees black & white. If he has his way we will all be in deep do-do, including him he is just to stupid to know it! This song could come true? “The End Times” http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_10381143
    Now end days or not this president is really not good for the country.

    Report this comment

    wordsofwisdom  
  • mash4077
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:34pm

    It’s been all by design since the days of teddy roosevelt. furthered along by just about every president and congress since. the constitution will survive long after their utopian society/idiocracy crashes and burns.

    Report this comment

    mash4077  
  • fastgen1
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:57pm

    With Millions and Millions of people out of work, if we did not have food stamps, we would have mile long soup lines. The corrupt freaks in Washing DC are in fear of their lives. So in their wisdom they decided to have free food rather than having millions of people looking to shoot their congressmen. They will continue to drain us all dry, rather than, well, die. We have the most crooked gov in the history of mankind. You voted them in, live with it…..

    Report this comment

    fastgen1  
    • jwpowers41
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 10:08am

      let’s have mile long soup lines cut this insane welfare crap get rid of the EBT cards no cash for
      welfare poeple all people on welfare need to be tested for drugs, alcohol and tobacco , no welfare
      or any public money for people using any of these substances. This our hard earned money and these
      free loaders need to fend for themselves. But wait..what about the poor children after one kid you
      get no extra money for more kids end of discussion

      Report this comment

      jwpowers41  
  • AZgirl9000
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:55pm

    Time for an independent audit of the contents of Fort Knox. Obama and the Democrats have been stealing everything else they can get their hands on. Also, I wonder what the terms are of our debt with the Chinese. Are they going to let us pay them back with our increasingly devalued dollar, or is the repayment tied to the price of gold?

    Report this comment

    AZgirl9000  
  • Brother Winston Smith
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:46pm

    1. The American Welfare State is Obama AND Bush AND the democrat party AND the republican party. THEY’RE ALL IDENTICAL.

    2. The Enumerated Powers grants authority for National DEFENSE. NOT republican/democrat (same thing) interventionism. And ACTUALLY FORBIDS our current police/surveillance-state.

    3. America didn’t topple the Soviet Union. Central Government Planning did. The same Central Government Planning that our criminal democrat party and republican party (same thing) are pursuing… IN FULL AND OPEN VIOLATION OF AMERICA’S LAWS!!!! CRIMINAL!

    Report this comment

    Brother Winston Smith  
    • progressiveslayer
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 10:00am

      Excellent!

      Report this comment

      progressiveslayer  
    • theBru
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 4:02pm

      A big AMEN there, Brother…but what I don’t get is this SS and Medicare as gov’t spending…That is the working man’s money, not the gov’t…the whole problem is, THEY THINK it is theirs…they have stolen all of our retirement funds, that THEY made us pay into…again, criminals, every last one of the blood suckers in politics is a criminal!!!

      Report this comment

      theBru  
    • Norm D. Plume
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 6:13pm

      @TheBRU:

      It’s always been a scam. People who let the government take money out of their checks for these schemes, will lose that money. Once you give it up, it no longer belongs to you. Possession is 9/10 of the law, and if you’ve given up that money to the government, you no longer possess it.

      Report this comment

      Norm D. Plume  
  • neverending
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:09pm

    Stunned as many are at how quickly he has done it even though in his first term he still held back a little bit but for his second term it is full speed ahead and so he will probably reach his goal by the end of this year. To think we could have stopped this ruthless monster on election day and many chose not to is just impossible for me to understand – their selfish motives helped put this sorry sob back in for four more years. Sad part of all is we all have to pay the price and tragically our children and grandchildren will never know the America we knew.

    Report this comment

    neverending  
    • mash4077
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:26pm

      sad but true.

      Report this comment

      mash4077  
    • Lord_Frostwind
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 1:22am

      This next part is going to hurt.

      Report this comment

      Lord_Frostwind  
    • spfoam1
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 2:26am

      I absolutely hate this administration and everyone who voted for them. Our self serving politicians have betrayed us for decades, for votes.

      Report this comment

      spfoam1  
    • AbrahamsSheepdog
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 1:20pm

      This past few years as a story in history is bone chilling. God was told to leave. Then look what came in..

      Report this comment

      AbrahamsSheepdog  
    • Norm D. Plume
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 6:10pm

      What would have been the point of voting for RINOmney? Do you think his policies would have been any different?

      Report this comment

      Norm D. Plume  
  • chicago76
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:41pm

    Obama is the end in a long line of Presidents that have expanded and destroyed our freedom through vote buying with tax dollars and the federal reserve money printing.

    Report this comment

    chicago76  
    • mash4077
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 9:40pm

      when you say the “end in along line….” do you mean the last president we will ever see?

      Report this comment

      mash4077  
  • NeoconHicks
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:40pm

    The author’s logic boggles my mind. Just because 6 out of 17 of the powers in that section of the Constitution deal with defense, that somehow means that the founding fathers intended us to funnel billions of dollars to crony defense contractors to buy equipment and technology that is far in excess of what we actually need for our defense? News flash: we’ve drawn down the majority of our forces from Iraq and are drawing down in Afghanistan. We don’t need to spend as much as we do on defense. We can spend less and still be just as safe.

    You said “America must reject the premise that our Constitution is outdated, cliché and therefore invalid…” Nobody is advocating this straw man argument!

    Report this comment

    NeoconHicks  
    • Joshua81
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:22pm

      Nobody but the dems, they frequently speak of this.

      Report this comment

      Joshua81  
    • Lt_Scrounge
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 12:41am

      Or we could spend even less on welfare programs, idiotic agencies that accomplish nothing like the depts of Education, and Energy, and trim the EPA to being an advisory agency. Eliminate about half of the Dept of Homeland Security. The overlap and redundancy between DHS and the FBI is ludicrously expensive. Strip the ATF down to where it handles licensing of gun dealers, booze makers, and tobacco companies AND NOTHING ELSE. They’ve proven to be inept at conducting gun running investigations, even going so far as to actually arm the people that they are supposed to be keeping guns from. With an average salary of over $80,000, you don’t have to put very many of them on the unemployment line before the savings start adding up. Put the CDC back to studying DISEASES instead of idiocy such as gun violence as a disease. It’s NOT.

      While food stamps, welfare, and public housing sound like good ideas, they REALLY aren’t. Yes there are people who need temporary help, and that’s one thing. But when people live on these programs for decades, while physically capable of working, they are milking the system. I’ve seen people raise their families in public housing and then have their kids move into public housing as well. It teaches people to be dependent on government instead of trying to better themselves and trying to get ahead.

      Report this comment

      Lt_Scrounge  
  • chicago76
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:37pm

    So where were the republicans when they had the chance to stop this monster. They voted not present or they voted for expansion. Both parties have been using tax dollars, and now the federal reserve more and more, to buy votes. It is easier to buy votes if you can just print the money though.

    Report this comment

    chicago76  
  • midnightvelvet
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:34pm

    Complain all you want about the man at the top. Obama isn’t the problem so much as a symptom. The soul or the country is slowly being eroded and changed fundamentally. Like the Eastern European politician said (I wish I could find the exact quote, must paraphrase) Whatever Obama does can be corrected in future administrations, harder to correct is an electorate that would elect someone like Obama.

    Report this comment

    midnightvelvet  
    • chicago76
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:39pm

      Problem is other administrations will expand on what Obama does to buy more votes. It is been that way ever since FDR and his new deal.

      Report this comment

      chicago76  
  • ImmigrantfromSocialism
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:03pm

    Socialism NEVER works for the citizens…Only those in the Politburo,PRAVDA,and one or two apparatchiks

    Report this comment

    ImmigrantfromSocialism  
  • freenj
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:00pm

    My dislike of him doesn’t even come close….

    Report this comment

    freenj  
  • Jimbo65
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 6:56pm

    I followed a car on the interstate this morning with two bumper stickers. The first read, “War is terrorism with a bigger budget”. The second, in anti-capitalist style’ read, “Clearcut Wall Street”. The Hippies I had to listen to at work in the 60′s are now “in charge”.

    Report this comment

    Jimbo65  
    • katzkiner
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:05pm

      Most of Obama’s friends are graduates of the Chicago branch SDS University. America isn’t dead yet, but she is bleeding out. A 50 year plan working well for the communists. And the boys and girls in the monkey suits in Congress and the military just standing by.
      COWARDS!

      Report this comment

      katzkiner  
  • cbrown
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 6:54pm

    What a baseless article!! Sorely lacking in facts, a sucker for low information folks.

    Military spending is the highest. These neocons would like to spend more. Entitlement spending has gone up but the drivers have nothing to do with President Obama. Folks are living longer, medical cost are going up, …

    Entitlement and defense spending has to reined in. Why do we have military forces in 171 countries, why not increase the retirement age to 67? … Either party should not demagogue the other when they do these cuts.

    Report this comment

    cbrown  
    • tonypro
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:22pm

      WOW cb,
      after reading your previous 10 posts, it’s so obvious you are a barry worshiper.
      Well barry SU(ks, and I pray our country will survive this POS’s regime.

      Report this comment

       
    • SickOfSociety
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:24pm

      Typical liberal troll. Complain about the facts, but provide zero backup. Nice try, but I sort of expected this sort of response.

      Report this comment

      SickOfSociety  
    • cbrown
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 8:20pm

      @SickOfSociety

      I provided facts but let me elaborate a bit more. US defense spending for 2012 was $729 billion the highest ever and it spent more on its military than the next 13 nations combined in 2012. Entitlement spending has gone up but what has President Obama got to do with folks living longer, medical costs going up, … Even if Republican was a President it would have been the exact same figure.

      @tonypro

      Yes, I am President Obama supporter and I expect the next four years would be a good one for us under his leadership, The deficit will be less than $800B this year and go down to less than $500B by 2016. We will create 10+Million jobs in four years, GDP growth will be 4+% in 2016, manufacturing will grow every year, food stamp spending will be down by 30+% by 2016, DOW will be up by 15k+ by 2016, … We will have Healthcare, Financial, Immigration and Tax reform during his term. What’s not to like about that record.

      Report this comment

      cbrown  
    • Snackdaddy
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 10:37pm

      We are the last, or were the last of our kind in the world, a totally free Republic, full of people that loved this country, and would do anything to preserve it. Look at us now, we are no longer feared, and our enemies do as they please without fear of consequence. In a world such as we live in today, chopping on the military is not an option. I can see cutting wasteful spending, but nothing else. We should take advantage of all the technology that is available to us, to build, and maintain the most powerful military in the world, one that no one would dare to challenge. I could care less about what we spend compared to other countries, they are not defending the once, most powerful nation on Earth, you know, the one all other nations looked up to. I find your optimism amusing, and you provide nothing to back it up. This Administration has a lot of questionable actions around it that have not been dealt with, and this makes it impossible for me, along with millions of others, to place any trust in anything coming from Congress, or The White House.

      Report this comment

      Snackdaddy  
    • katzkiner
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 3:34am

      CB the only thing Obama has worked hard on is partying, vacations, his golf game, making all his friends rich with bogus “green jobs”, and telling any lie necessary to win re-election.It would make me happier than you if Obama could achieve all the goals you list. It was hype the first term, more of the same 2nd term. I’d settle for half your “list”. Now go worship your “Lord and Savior.”

      Report this comment

      katzkiner  
    • Bollockz
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 6:05am

      Im sort of curious as to what has Barry done so far as to make @CBROWN think any of what he has said could possibly come true. Everything is worse then it was when he took office (Yes even unemployment is up if you look at the number of people who have left the work force) and there is nothing to suggest it will get better.

      Oh I forgot, I just fed the troll. Sorry all!!

      Report this comment

      Bollockz  
    • cbrown
      Posted on February 8, 2013 at 9:45am

      @Snackdaddy, @katzkiner, @Bollockz

      My predication are based on the current trends and projections by Wall Street economist. In the past three months we added 600K+ jobs, manufacturing was off to good start in January, 70+% of the companies beat their earnings estimate in Q4, CBO has projected the deficit to be less $800B and going down each year after that, … You don’t have to wait four years to see the numbers, by the end of this year you will see the results continue to trend in the right direction.

      US is the greatest nation in the world and we are the envy of others. We will have world strongest military even when we cut wasteful spending (stop building things our military does not want, cut bureaucracy, let Germany/Japan/Korea pay for our military presence). Also, make sensible entitlement cuts to meet our needs for this century.

      Report this comment

      cbrown  
  • Rileydj
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 6:43pm

    Perversion of the founding fathers? Thinly too small, the Muslim Maggot in Chief is a complete perversion of the human race.

    Report this comment

    Rileydj  
  • welovetheUSA
    Posted on February 7, 2013 at 6:30pm

    Obama is a communist pig………period.

    Report this comment

    welovetheUSA  
    • tonypro
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:24pm

      A communist, muslim anti-American, POS pig.

      I would love to put all my adjectives to describe the skank in our White House, but there just isn’t enough room in this forum.

      Report this comment

       
    • dylan
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:38pm

      AND, he’s loving all his slop.

      Report this comment

      dylan  
    • katzkiner
      Posted on February 7, 2013 at 7:56pm

      Now days most Muslims are socialists. They allied with the Soviet Union and communism stuck with addition of Allah to the brew.

      Report this comment

      katzkiner  
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