In the article "Families Pay Price For Government Spending," author Wendy McElroy .
brings up important issues about the average middle class family that struggles just to .
keep food on the table while the government increases taxes and spending in other .
countries. The cost of living continues to go up, while minimum wage is at a standstill. .
As the government continues spending, they are tightening the noose around the neck of .
middle class families. .
McElroy reports, "The modern two-income family is no better off than the one-income .
family from decades ago." Although McElroy gives no examples of the modern family .
budget, she provides convincing evidence from The Bureau of Labor Statistics. They .
found that families in 2000 spent 44 percent less on household appliances than families in .
1973, 22 percent less on food, and 21 percent less on clothing. McElroy states, "It is .
reasonable to conclude or, at least, strongly suspect that discretionary income has .
decreased. Other evidence supports that conclusion: over 1.6 million bankruptcies were .
filed last year, up 7.4 percent from the year before.".
The government continues to increase spending on social programs instituted in the name .
of political correctness that only tighten the noose even more. Just a few to mention are .
the child abuse industry and the sexual harassment industry. .
A financial incentive of $4,000 to $6,000 per child adopted was offered so the states .
could raise the number of children moved out of foster care and into permanent families. .
These expensive bureaucracies "slurp at the public trough," leaving middle class families .
taking up the slack. .
"The direct tax support rendered to social engineering is only the most visible price tag. .
The hidden costs are as significant," reports McElroy. The author has provided .
substantial evidence that hidden costs imposed on the workplace are also affecting our .
families. Examples are red tape and law suits that make businesses less profitable and .
