Our entitlement system is broken and needs to be changed. At the same time, we must recognize that it exists to help Americans who are truly needy. No American should be cold, hungry or lack for medical attention. Our challenge is to separate the needy from the freeloaders. Sadly, President Obama and politicians on both sides of the aisle have politicized every effort to discuss solutions to the rapid growth of entitlement spending. Indeed, President Obama has greatly increased entitlement spending. He has doubled the funding for Pell Grants and expanded the number of recipients by 50 percent; welfare spending now costs almost $1 trillion annually; and Obamacare would subsidize health care coverage for 30 million Americans.
Yes, Romney could have used better language, but his fundamental point — that far too many Americans are dependent on government assistance — is true. Until and unless we recognize that our emperor and his party are increasing entitlement spending at an unsustainable rate, we are doomed to spiral downward to financial collapse.
Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer electronics companies, and author of the New York Times bestselling book, “The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream.” Connect with him on Twitter: @GaryShapiro.
