The statistics are abhorrent. Poverty is up by 2% over 2007. There are more people than ever before who are on disability or who are receiving government benefits. Note that I did not say there are more people than ever before that are disabled. The lack of decent paying jobs has forced many able bodied individuals to seek disability benefits as a means of survival. In the same way many more have been forced to seek support from the government by way of a host of government benefits.
This dependence on government has robbed those individuals of dignity and the pride of self reliance. The result can be seen in the plight of whole neighborhoods who have lived on the government dole for generations. The children of these families grow up with no hope nor ambition. Every increase in government dependence creates a new generation of slaves. The master in this case in the government which can dictate where people live, what people buy, what medical care is allowed and just around the corner, which vices are acceptable and how you will vote.
Already benefits come with rules. Its big brother taking over the lives of those who depend on it for sustenance. Seldom do individuals, once they become dependent, ever break free. They have to earn too much to be able to afford to go to work. Since the true nature of the constitution is no longer taught in school and since the level of education where people had fully independent critical thinking skill has all but vanished in the public school system students are set up to fail from the day they enroll. The easiest way to keep someone as a slave is to never let them know what freedom or knowledge really mean.
The epic failure of the US government is the destruction of capitalism and trade of opportunity for a utopia that is way less than the previous reality. Its a utopia which has failed every time it has been tried as it castrates human ambition and beheads the dreams of millions. Until people are willing to fight for what was the American dream it will remain dead, and the American people will remain as sheep led to the slaughter.