What has caused changes in the United States? (These dollar figures are inflation adjusted to 2016.)
In 1970, unemployment was 4.9 percent; for the first three months of 2018 it has been 4.1 percent.
In 1984, (the earliest year for which I could find data) the median family income was $49,335; in 2016, it was $59,039.
In 1970, the upper income limit for those in the bottom 20 percent of households was $20,350; in 2016, it was $24,002.
In 1977, (earliest data I found) there were 75.2 million males in the U.S. over the age of 16; 54.7 million (72.2 percent) of them were employed. In 2017 there were 123.3 million males in the U.S. over the age of 16; 81.4 million (66.0 percent) were employed.
In 1970, 10 percent of children were born to unwed mothers (up from less than 5 percent in 1950); in 2011, the number was 41 percent.
In 1970, Medicaid paid for virtually no births, the program wasn't started until 1965. In 2008, 40.1 percent of births were paid for by Medicaid (taxpayers); in 2010, the figure was 47.8 percent (42.2 percent in Missouri), a 19 percent increase in two years.
In 1970, there were 4.3 million people collecting food stamps, costing taxpayers $3.04 billion. In 2017, there were 42.2 million recipients (down from 2016), the program cost taxpayers $65.6 billion.
In 1970, federal spending on "human resources" (excluding Social Security, Medicare and veterans benefits and services) was $176 billion ($2,775/household); in 2016, it was $1,135 billion ($9,024/household).
In addition we have OSHA (started in 1971), the CDC, the FDA, the USDA who knows what else "protecting" us. In 1970 there were 2.7 million people collecting Social Security disability benefits, in March 2018 there were 8.7 million.
In 1970 the federal government had a surplus of $16 billion; in 2016, it ran a $585 billion deficit.
How long will continue to elect federal politicians who are willing to cannibalize our children/grandchildren so that they can buy votes by handing out more "free stuff." Free stuff funded by more debt piled on future generations? If Missourians want all this free stuff then we need to vote to raise our taxes to pay for it in our state.