Northwest Indiana Discussion

Federal and state welfare assistance has grown almost 19 percent under President Barack Obama, according to the conservative Heritage Foundation.

All in all, there are 79 means-tested federal welfare programs, at a cost approaching $1 trillion annually, said Heritage Senior Research Fellow Robert Rector.

Rector conducted a comprehensive analysis of spending for government assistance programs, ranging from food, education and childcare programs to housing and medical care.

Since Fiscal Year 2009, federal and state welfare spending has risen from $779.9 billion to $927.2 billion, an increase of 18.8 percent. That fiscal year includes spending from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2009.

In his report, Rector said the increase in federal means-tested welfare spending during Obama’s first two years in office was two-and-a-half times greater than any previous increase in federal welfare spending in U.S. history, after adjusting for inflation.

Ryan promises to fulfill Obama’s
’08 pledge to ‘put
aside childish things’
Daily Caller, by Alexis Levinson

SPRINGFIELD, Va. — The youngsters were running the show here on Friday, where 42-year-old Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan took the stage after being introduced by two 44-year-olds: Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and former Alabama Rep. Artur Davis.

Ryan said that if elected, Mitt Romney would treat Americans like adults.

“We have a very serious choice to make,” Ryan told the crowd. “And what Mitt Romney is offering is to make a decision together.”

Ryan has earned praise as a serious policy wonk willing to tackle the tough issues, and in his speech to the overflowing crowd at a northern Virginia high school, he spoke of issues — like entitlement reform — that tend to be flashpoints used to rile up voters.

Ryan said politicians ought to confront those issues head on, like adults, instead of avoiding them.

“The problem is, too many politicians in Washington, like President Obama, have been more worried and concerned about their next election than they have about the next generation,” Ryan said. “We will not do that.”

Instead, Ryan said, he and Romney would tackle the hard issues, even the unpopular ones.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/17/ryan- ... z23u5No33J