No - not so, a portion of the citizenry perhaps, especially entrenched national congressional, senatorial, and predidential personnel, have called for the increases in government dependency. Certainly economic conditions dictate a temporary increase perhaps, but the real culprit is generational dependency caused by poor government oversight policy. In the recession of 1980-1981, the number was not that high (as a per capita percentage), and it was not that high in the early 1990's recessions. And remember "thenewgreen" you and I both agreed that the origin of the current recession (mostly attributed by all parties) was the collapse of the credit markets and the "toxic assets" that accompanied that collapse! The process started in the early 1990's (an objective fact that most "Bush Bashers" convenienltly leave out), under a Democrat President and when both houses of Congress were Democratic. Several presidents have "inherited" bad economies (the 1980's was worse!), but pulled out with not as many people "dependent" on the government dole. So to say "the citizenry" includeds only about 50% of the population. We are more and more ruled by an unelected "administrative" state that seems to govern "without the consent of the people" for several years. I believe Congress should reign in the "administrative state" that has usurped the intended legislative powers of the Congress itself. Factually, the food stamp program HAS expanded more under the Obama administration - that is data, not opinion!