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A Nation of Takers: America’s Entitlement Epidemic
In A Nation of Takers: America’s Entitlement Epidemic, one of our country’s foremost demographers, Nicholas Eberstadt, details the exponential growth in entitlement spending over the past fifty years. As he notes, in 1960, entitlement payments accounted for well under a third of the federal government’s total outlays. Today, entitlement spending accounts for a full two-thirds of the federal budget. Drawing on an impressive array of data and employing a range of easy- to- read, four color charts, Eberstadt shows the unchecked spiral of spending on a range of entitlements, everything from medicare to disability payments. But Eberstadt does not just chart the astonishing growth of entitlement spending, he also details the enormous economic and cultural costs of this epidemic. He powerfully argues that while this spending certainly drains our federal coffers, it also has a very real,long-lasting, negative impact on the character of our citizens. Also included in the book is a response from one of our leading political theorists, William Galston. In his incisive response, he questions Eberstadt’s conclusions about the corrosive effect of entitlements on character and offers his own analysis of the impact of American entitlement growth.
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 10, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 10, 2020
This book is full of a lot of scary graphs but not a lot of substance. Don’t expect to get much new information from this book. The author goes on and on about how our government spending is out-of-control (which it is) but doesn’t go further than that. He doesn’t explain the cost the large welfare state has on work ethic and out-of-wedlock births. A significantly much better book that goes into that is Charles Sykes’ book “A Nation of Moochers.” Sykes’ book lacks the scary graph but is very informative (and on top of that much longer).
October 10, 2013
First, the good news: It was better than Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings. However, being dragged across a field of broken glass by a team of horses is also better than Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, so that bar is set pretty low.
1. Factually & statistically it's a fine work. Good data, interpretation and presentation, and delivered in a fairly easily-digested style.
2. That said, this is not a casual read, and is intended for a very specific audience: If you're not into statisitics, or healthcare, or social program performance, or working with government/programs in some way, there is absolutely no reason to read this.
3. Through no fault of the author, it's an infuriating read on the facts alone. As you read the data, you'll find yourself consumed with an urge to go out and smack the hell out of 50% of the people in America.
4. That will be followed by a sense of righteous indignation, and then absoulte outrage at how your tax money is being misused. You will subsequently decide that you absolutely "hate the system". You will then blame Obama, the Bushes, Clinton, Johnson and FDR for creating a nation of whiney slack-asses who won't pull their own weight. Then you'll think of a half dozen ways to fix it, resolve that you or your offspring should run for public office, close the book, resolve to never read it again but insist thst someone else should, and then go on with life.
Sorry, but that's the way it is.
It's a very short and easy read re: volume & length, but as a small sized book (5" x 8"?) it's hard to read tables and charts with accompanying text. This would be better printed as an 8.5 x 11 pamphlet or booklet style volume, for easier reading and to faciliate highlighting and annotation.
So the net is if you're interested in a statistical snapshot of how the US continues it's decline from the powerhouse that won two world wars to a nation of pathetic embarassments who devote more time trying to work the system than they do actually working, this is the book for you.
1. Factually & statistically it's a fine work. Good data, interpretation and presentation, and delivered in a fairly easily-digested style.
2. That said, this is not a casual read, and is intended for a very specific audience: If you're not into statisitics, or healthcare, or social program performance, or working with government/programs in some way, there is absolutely no reason to read this.
3. Through no fault of the author, it's an infuriating read on the facts alone. As you read the data, you'll find yourself consumed with an urge to go out and smack the hell out of 50% of the people in America.
4. That will be followed by a sense of righteous indignation, and then absoulte outrage at how your tax money is being misused. You will subsequently decide that you absolutely "hate the system". You will then blame Obama, the Bushes, Clinton, Johnson and FDR for creating a nation of whiney slack-asses who won't pull their own weight. Then you'll think of a half dozen ways to fix it, resolve that you or your offspring should run for public office, close the book, resolve to never read it again but insist thst someone else should, and then go on with life.
Sorry, but that's the way it is.
It's a very short and easy read re: volume & length, but as a small sized book (5" x 8"?) it's hard to read tables and charts with accompanying text. This would be better printed as an 8.5 x 11 pamphlet or booklet style volume, for easier reading and to faciliate highlighting and annotation.
So the net is if you're interested in a statistical snapshot of how the US continues it's decline from the powerhouse that won two world wars to a nation of pathetic embarassments who devote more time trying to work the system than they do actually working, this is the book for you.
May 22, 2017
From the American Enterprise Institute, the data focus primarily on the growth in Social Security, medicare, and medicaid spending and the degree to which that spending contributes to our growing national debt, crowding out resources for more pressing needs. I have long maintained that we have the government we deserve and most Americans want government benefits, but are unwilling to pay for those benefits. The result, as the author notes, is that we are leveraging our children's and grandchildren's futures because of our current lack of fiscal discipline. We all know people who rail against government spending while accepting government resources. Inherent in that contradiction is the longstanding national narrative that government largesse flows to underserving poor Americans, while the benefits that accrue to the middle class are deserved. Looking at the Trump Administration's latest proposal to slash medicaid funding while leaving social security and medicare is an excellent example of how this false narrative results in politically expedient (old white people are among Trump's greatest supporters) and fiscally irresponsible decisions.
April 7, 2024
Hard to see why this is rated so low when 1) it’s a solid analysis of a big problem and 2) it’s a great way to cheese the Goodreads challenge.
Basically a long AEI article printed as a book as bound with two book reviews included. Those were helpful. Very niche read; I found informative. Reading it a bit late though as numbers have changed since 2010.
Basically a long AEI article printed as a book as bound with two book reviews included. Those were helpful. Very niche read; I found informative. Reading it a bit late though as numbers have changed since 2010.
May 1, 2014
Using US government data, Nicholas Eberstadt documents the unending rise of welfare spending or "government transfers to individuals." He goes beyond the obviously unsound Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs and documents spread of people on disability insurance despite the improvements in health care over the last 50 years. All told, nearly 48% of American households receive government transfers from at least one program.
He covers some other areas including the steady exit of males from the workforce and the relative unchanged level of poverty in the US since LBJ declared his war on poverty, despite the ballooning of government entitlement programs.
Towards the end, he demonstrates that government transfers are choking out the nation's ability to provide for national defense. He also makes plain the absurdity of recent sequestration measures, largely focused on DOD spending, proposed by Obama to significantly affect the nation's debt, much like chucking pebbles into a rushing river to stop a flood.
At the end are a couple alternate interpretations of the facts, which lend more credence to the book and engender further reflection. While I think Mr Eberstadt upon occasion oversells his conclusions, the facts speak loudly themselves and plainly call for drastic changes.
He covers some other areas including the steady exit of males from the workforce and the relative unchanged level of poverty in the US since LBJ declared his war on poverty, despite the ballooning of government entitlement programs.
Towards the end, he demonstrates that government transfers are choking out the nation's ability to provide for national defense. He also makes plain the absurdity of recent sequestration measures, largely focused on DOD spending, proposed by Obama to significantly affect the nation's debt, much like chucking pebbles into a rushing river to stop a flood.
At the end are a couple alternate interpretations of the facts, which lend more credence to the book and engender further reflection. While I think Mr Eberstadt upon occasion oversells his conclusions, the facts speak loudly themselves and plainly call for drastic changes.
November 18, 2012
My own views fall in line with Galston's dissenting view - his critiques of Eberstadt are spot on. But I really appreciate the inclusion of alternate views in Eberstadt's book, and I agree that the growth of "entitlement" spending is problematic and needs to be addressed.
February 21, 2017
Though when I originally bought "A Nation of Takers" I thought I was buying a longer book, this still serves its purpose very well. It can be read in one sitting and gives an accurate picture of the welfare state in the United States. Much, if not all, of the growth in the United States government can be attributed to growth in entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. Other programs like food stamps and AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) have also been growing, but they are a drop in the bucket compared to programs like Medicare and Social Security. Eberstadt's thesis is that the rapid increase in the size and scope of these programs has fostered dependency on these programs among the population. He believes the character of the United States has fundamentally changed due to the growth of the welfare state.
Eberstadt's data and graphical depictions are clear and to the point. Even the critiques that he prints at the end of the book point to his data presentation as a service to the reader. I do not believe that William Galston's critique is damning by any means. Galston pictures a hypothetical Social Security/Medicare system where each generation does not take out more than the one that preceded it in the hopes that the next generation will not take more than it has taken. In reality, each successive generation has taken out ever more than the generation preceding it; this shifts larger and larger burdens onto the current working generations. Galston's fantasy version of the entitlement state is far from the reality. After reading this book, it should be obvious to the reader that our idea of redistributive government needs to change. There are certainly plenty of other areas to trim the fat of government, including defense and the many administrative agencies, but until we address the welfare state, we will continue to careen into the abyss. At nearly $20 trillion of debt, with many tens of trillions in unfunded liabilities, it is only a matter of time before we are forced to make tough decisions on these programs.
Eberstadt's data and graphical depictions are clear and to the point. Even the critiques that he prints at the end of the book point to his data presentation as a service to the reader. I do not believe that William Galston's critique is damning by any means. Galston pictures a hypothetical Social Security/Medicare system where each generation does not take out more than the one that preceded it in the hopes that the next generation will not take more than it has taken. In reality, each successive generation has taken out ever more than the generation preceding it; this shifts larger and larger burdens onto the current working generations. Galston's fantasy version of the entitlement state is far from the reality. After reading this book, it should be obvious to the reader that our idea of redistributive government needs to change. There are certainly plenty of other areas to trim the fat of government, including defense and the many administrative agencies, but until we address the welfare state, we will continue to careen into the abyss. At nearly $20 trillion of debt, with many tens of trillions in unfunded liabilities, it is only a matter of time before we are forced to make tough decisions on these programs.
July 10, 2013
The data in this book confirms what most of us already know -- things are broken with the entitlement programs in USA. I enjoyed the factual approach that Eberstadt takes that is devoid of the political rhetoric (this isn't a republican or a deomocrat issue) that conversations on entitlements are usually smothered in.
The most disturbing section of the book is when the author points out that we are placing all of these burdens on the backs of unborn Americans (i.e. my children). Another disturbing trend is the fact that these programs are abused by those who fish around for a corrupt doctor who will confirm they are disabled so that they can live a life of mediocrity that is passed on to future generations. That creates massive issues within American culture and work ethic.
This book is great / bad in the sense that there is no sulition presented. The lack of resolution allows the reader to think more deeply about potential solutions, but more proposed improvements to the current system would have been nice.
The most disturbing section of the book is when the author points out that we are placing all of these burdens on the backs of unborn Americans (i.e. my children). Another disturbing trend is the fact that these programs are abused by those who fish around for a corrupt doctor who will confirm they are disabled so that they can live a life of mediocrity that is passed on to future generations. That creates massive issues within American culture and work ethic.
This book is great / bad in the sense that there is no sulition presented. The lack of resolution allows the reader to think more deeply about potential solutions, but more proposed improvements to the current system would have been nice.
October 7, 2016
Best book on US social welfare policy ever (this may not be saying much). Using a fairly data-driven approach with excel charts galore, Eberstadt shows the incredible growth of entitlement programs in the United States. He definitely kills some sacred cows (examples: many of the greatest beneficiaries of entitlement programs come from Republican districts, and that Republican presidents ushered in some of the biggest increases in entitlement spending). While Eberstadt makes some illogical conclusions, he actually made an incredibly analytical case that Americans are gaming disability insurance, and does a reasonable job of supporting his sentiments with evidence. The book also contain essays by William Galston and Yuval Levin that make counter-arguments to Eberstadt's main essay. Given its small size, it provides a great wallop of information in a short amount of time. This is a great primer if you want to understand the monstrous and boring problem of entitlements in America.
August 11, 2014
Based entirely on numbers published by the US government itself. Our choices are leading to an arithmetical certainty - we run out of money primarily because of transfer payments to individuals who provide no current service or value in return.
Everybody knows that, I would hope, already.
What I found useful was the set of figures that overturn the canard of military spending being the cause of our problem with money. Just read the numbers.
Author is careful to not fall in the obvious path of blaming Democrats. The Republicans have looted our paychecks to buy votes to at least the same degree.
Everybody knows that, I would hope, already.
What I found useful was the set of figures that overturn the canard of military spending being the cause of our problem with money. Just read the numbers.
Author is careful to not fall in the obvious path of blaming Democrats. The Republicans have looted our paychecks to buy votes to at least the same degree.
May 14, 2013
A well written and thoughtfully articulated book on the grand problem of the entitlement system in the US. Filled with statistics, charts, graphs, and general insights, this book allows the reader to better grasp how the expansion of the entitlement system has become an overconsumption on not only the nation's budget, but also on the way US citizens view work, the role of government, accountability, and ethics. Very enlightening.
May 6, 2013
Excellent overview of the explosive growth of federal entitlement spending from 1960-2010. Comprehensive stats give a complete picture from multiple angles, and the author offers his opinions about how we got to this point and what the future holds. Includes a dissenting essay at the end of the book; also a quick read at around 100 pages.
November 11, 2012
Read it. Good insights in both the author's and the dissenters' writing.
November 18, 2012
Depressing in the extreme.
November 26, 2012
Eberstadt provides striking data analysis on the current state of entitlements, followed by equally compelling counterpoint from William Galston and Yuval Levin.
April 3, 2013
Depressing, frightening ... and very compelling. Are we doomed as a nation?
Check out my more detailed thoughts over at http://2bitmonkey.wordpress.com/2013/...
Check out my more detailed thoughts over at http://2bitmonkey.wordpress.com/2013/...
February 23, 2013
The author gets extra credit for allowing other writers to weigh in and disagree
June 25, 2013
Sad that so many feel it ok to suck on the teet of government. Also too bad that it doesn't matter what party is in power entitlements still continue to grow.
August 2, 2014
America's Entitlement Epidemic
January 7, 2015
Scary but true.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews