More than 86 million Americans work full time in the private sector and support almost 148 million who receive government benefits, according to data from the Census Bureau.
The 86,429,000 full-time workers include anyone who worked 35 or more hours per week at least 50 weeks of the year for a business or for themselves, according to the 2012 Census Bureau data,
CNS News reported.
There are two categories of individuals who receive government benefits. The first includes those who receive benefits from nonwelfare programs they paid into, such as Medicare, Social Security, unemployment, and veterans benefits.
The second category includes those who participate in a welfare program, such as Medicaid and food stamps.
Individuals benefiting from a government welfare program in the fourth quarter of 2011 included more than 82 million people who live in a household where one or more people are using Medicaid; over 49 million where someone in the household used food stamps; more than 23 million people who lived in households where someone used Women's, Infant and Children (WIC) services; more than 20 million who lived in a household where someone received Supplemental Security Income (SSI); and over 13 million who lived in subsidized housing, totaling 108,592,000 people.
The first category is made up of more than 49 million who received Social Security benefits; over 46 million who received Medicare; over 5 million who were collecting unemployment compensation; and more than 3 million receiving veterans benefits.
The two categories make up a total of 151,014,000. When the veterans are subtracted, it makes up a total of 147,802,000 nonveteran government beneficiaries.
Those who get benefits outnumber full-time private-sector workers by nearly 2 to 1.
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