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The Spin Cycle has joined a group of conservative bloggers who have formed The Right Blogfest. On some special occasions we will all write a post on the same topic, with each one of us providing our own unique viewpoint.



We are proud to join Two Sisters From The Right,  Raised On Hoecakes,  Steve Bussey.com and Patriot's Corner in this project. 



We invite you to visit the other blogs for their own perspective on the topic at hand. 





Today is July 4th, and is known as Independence Day in the USA. 



Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain.



Independence Day is celebrated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.



But how independent are we today?



Certainly a lot less than we were 235 years ago. While we were self sufficient and a major exporter of goods in 1776, today we import a great deal of our essential needs:



98% of our clothing

80% of our prescription drugs

79% of the fish and shellfish we ea

75% of all furniture sold in the USA

71% of our high tech products

65% of our crude oil

43% of our cars

22% of our finished steel

15% of our food



And a staggering number of us depend on government benefits today. And none of these things even existed prior to 1936. In fact, a record number of Americans are currently working for the government!

58,000,000 Americans rely on Medicaid

54,000,000 Americans receive Social Security

45,000,000 Americans are on Medicare

43,000,000 Americans collect food stamps

25,000,000 Americans have government jobs

  5,000,000 Americans collect AFDC



We have come a very long way since the Declaration of Independence was signed.



Not only are we dependent on foreign nations to provide us with essential commodities, but now a sizable number of our workforce is working for some government agency. Some of those jobs are important ones, like soldiers, police, firefighters and teachers... but an awful lot of them are just administrators. People who shuffle papers around, and manage these huge bureacracies.



For example, President Barack Hussein Obama, D-Kenya, has a staff of 454 people working for him at the White House. They are paid between $41,000 and $172,200 a year, with a great many getting the top rate. This works out to a White House payroll of over $38 million, not including benefits. And their benefits are pretty darn good, too.



The bottom line is... the more goods we need to import, and the more people we have working for government the weaker our nation becomes. When we celebrate "Independence" we might be celebrating something we once had, but don't have today.