West also said he’s not satisfied by the economic vision laid out by Romney. | REUTERS West: Social Security disability is 'slavery'

Rep. Allen West is accusing President Barack Obama of making Americans increasingly dependent on social programs, blasting Social Security disability insurance as “a form of modern, 21st-century slavery.”

“Since June of 2009 or so, we have seen 2.4 million private sector jobs created, but we’ve had 3.1 million people going on Social Security disability and, as we said just this past month, the 85,000 went on Social Security disability as opposed to 80,000 jobs created,” the Florida Republican said Sunday on Fox News. “So once again we are creating the sense of economic dependence which, to me is a form of modern, 21st-century slavery.”


The congressman also doubled down on his controversial “slave” comments from the previous weekend, when he accused Obama of wanting Americans “to be his slave and be economically dependent on him.”

“Absolutely not,” West said when asked if he regretted the remarks. “We should not regret telling the truth in the United States of America.”

West also said he’s not satisfied by the economic vision laid out by presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney — a concern that has been voiced by other conservatives in recent weeks.

“I think that there is no doubt that he can do a lot better,” West said. “I’m not part of his inner circle of advisers, so I don’t know what they discuss, but I think that the American people are looking for a message that … focuses on the exceptionalism and the uniqueness of the United States of America.”