For nearly a century, Democrats have tended toward government expansion and finding ways to redistribute tax-payer dollars into the hands of their constituents. And although this frequently looks less like a genuine attempt to help people and more like a bald attempt to buy votes, Democrats continually push for the expansion of these programs without so much as blushing.

Just consider the expansion of government handouts that has taken place under President Barack Obama. Unemployment benefits now last for 99 weeks, nearly half the households in the nation no longer pay federal income tax, and food stamps are ubiquitous. Oh, and don’t forget the fact that the government has a program in place to get you a cell phone if you don’t have one. In other words, a person can get along quite well without a job under Obama.

Think about it this way: When he entered the office, approximately 62 million Americans received government assistance. Now, three years later, that number has grown to 68 million. In 2010 alone the number of households receiving some type of government assistance hit nearly 49%, up from 44.4% right before Obama took office. Moreover, over the past few days a CBO report has circulated which shows that 45 million Americans are now on food stamps, a 70% increase in the number of people that were receiving them in 2007.

Add to this to recent proposals by Democrats to give gasoline subsidies to low income families, and there’s only one question worth asking: Just how many votes will Obama’s food stamp generosity net him in November?