Ominous article, among many, over at Zero Hedge, bemoaning the weight of the welfare state holding down the impulse to economic recovery.  

Really, is it so hard to just begin cutting the government?  To tell people that the promises made by lying politicians cannot be paid?  Politically I guess it is, but in any other way it should not be, once a majority realizes that it is a choice between the parasites and the producers, and the only way forward is to reward the latter and dis-incentivise the former.

From the article:

  "There will not be an economic recovery given the economic policies of this country. A recovery is not unlikely, I would argue it is closer to impossible if not impossible. The reasons for this position are not complicated. In short, the nation has become an out-of-control welfare state that is rapidly destroying the incentives to work or create jobs. Government policies appear designed toward this end. One doesn’t need a high IQ or  an advanced degree in economics to understand the problems."

Go thee forth and read it all.