The most terrifying economic chart of 2011

Of 'the 11 most disturbing economic charts of 2011' presented by Tyler Durden, this particular graph struck me hardest:

Why is this single graph so horrifying?

Please note what occurred to the labor force participation rate when Barack Obama took office.

Not when "the Great Recession" hit. When Obama took office. After he took office, the labor force participation rate went into freefall.

And please note the coincidental rise in food stamps and government assistance at the exact same time; free money to stay unemployed, dispensed with leaf-blower-like efficiency throughout the country:


This, my friends, is the inevitable result of President Subprime McDowngrade's expansion of the welfare state: a new class of individuals so enriched by government largess that they have lost all motivation to work.

But it's not all bad news: at least the USDA is aware of how food stamps are being used and is highly efficient at stamping out waste, fraud and abuse.

Oh, wait. They're not - they don't even know what kind of things are getting purchased with your tax dollars.

Talk amongst yourselves.