Look what Wal Mart and the Bush administration are doing for America

In the midst of their know-nothing rants about how "bad" the Clinton administration was for America, coupled with the occasional "Democrats love taxes - and they love to support dead beats who don't work" - Republicans seem to forget that it was the Clinton administration that imposed time limits on government welfare. The number of families receiving the benefits of welfare has dropped dramatically since the government (lead by President Clinton) imposed time limits on welfare payments about a decade ago. So naturally you'd think that the Bush administration must be doing it's part as well - but then of course, be wrong.

Other programs for the poor, including Medicaid, food stamps and disability benefits, are bursting with new enrollees.

The result, according to an Associated Press analysis: Nearly one in six people rely on some form of public assistance, a larger share than at any time since the government started measuring two decades ago.

Critics of the welfare overhaul say the numbers offer fresh evidence that few former recipients have become self-sufficient, even though millions have moved from welfare to work. They say the vast majority have been forced into low-paying jobs without benefits and few opportunities to advance.

About 44 million people - nearly one in six in the country - relied on government services for the poor in 2003, according to the most recent statistics compiled by the Census Bureau. That compares with about 39 million in 1996.

Also, the number of people getting government aid continues to increase, according to more recent enrollment figures from individual programs.

Medicaid rolls alone topped 45 million people in 2005, pushed up in part by rising health care costs and fewer employers offering benefits. Nearly 26 million people a month received food stamps that year.

Wow!!!! With the list of those relying on government help continuing to grow under his watch, George Bush continues to cut the amount of money going to Medicaid, while spending more money on the war in Iraq (click here for more info on that).

See, while the administration continues to "tout" it's "grand" economic policy, and the millions of jobs it's reportedly created, most media outlets, and of course the Bush administration itself fail to report that those same jobs are not exactly paying "reasonable" wages, or anything close to reasonable for that matter. In fact, the Nation's top employer - Hell Wal Mart, reportedly encourages employees to apply for Welfare, Medicaid, and other government programs because it simply doesn't pay it's employees enough to support themselves or their families.

Another argument from Wal-Mart's critics is that the company encourages its employees to apply for public assistance programs. Jon Lehman, a former Wal-Mart manager now working to unionize Wal-Mart stores, tells FRONTLINE that he actively encouraged and assisted his staff with applying for public assistance. "I thought I was doing a good thing at the time, he said. "Now, when I look back, I think, 'Wow, that's incredibly poor that the company doesn't care enough about its workers to pay them a living wage and to help them with their medical costs, to pay their medical expenses and things like that'."

For those of you thinking "well I don't work there, why should I care?" Keep in mind that your tax money is what pays for Wal Mart employees to be able to survive, because the company simply refuses to pay them enough.

For more information on the crap-shoot that is "employment at Wal Mart," I encourage all of you to rent this movie that will explain in detail what a complete joke the entire company is.

The Bush administration needs to read between the lines a tad before they start touting either the national unemployment rate, or their economic policies ever again.