RJ and Makay

According to a USA TODAY analysis of government data, private business paychecks shrank to their smallest share of personal income in U.S. history during Q1 this year. Meanwhile, during the same quarter, benefits provided by the government such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, food stamps and other programs reached a historic high.

This brings focus to a long-term trend which has been recently accelerated by the economy and the government's efforts to help dull pain inflicted by such a long and deep recession.