Mitt Romney and the notorious "47%." http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/federal-taxes-households.cfm and AP Mitt Romney's comment about 47 percent of Americans living on government handouts may not have been tactful, but he certainly has a point.

Americans are more dependent on the government than ever.

Romney's "47 percent" refers approximately to the population who pay no federal income tax. Add to this the share of the country who receive government handouts in one form or another and that number would be higher still.

We've collected a series of charts published recently by conservative think tank Heritage on the rise of government dependence,