Less remarked upon than these deficit and debt figures—but equally significant—is the inordinately large number of Americans dependent on federal transfer payments for their very livelihood. Many are not aware that these entitlements—particularly Social Security benefits, Medicare, and Medicaid—comprise fully two-thirds of federal expenditures. Instead, many mistakenly believe that defense expenditures are the largest single federal expenditure when, in fact, defense comprises only about 13 percent of the federal budget.

Murray Rothbard wrote: “The greater the extent of government subsidy in the economy, the more the market is prevented from working, and the more inefficient will the market be in catering to consumer wants. Hence, the greater the government subsidy, the lower will be the standard of living of everyone, of all the consumers.”