The more government has control over a country's resources, the more its citizens look to it for help. The more a country's citizens look to government for help, the more that government can command yet greater control of its citizens resources. In 1969, the U.S. government controlled about 30 percent of annual U.S. economic output (gross domestic product--GDP). In 2010, the U.S. government controlled over 40 percent of annual GDP. Most of this increase consisted of government transfer payments (i.e., government payouts to individuals and households). Thus, in 2011, far more U.S. citizen's than ever are looking to government for help.
Socialism can be loosely (but not unreasonably) defined as government control of a nation's resources. So if you are wondering in what direction this country is heading and how fast, well you do the math.
As for the future of the U.S. economy, this blog has cited numerous studies documenting the inverse relationship between the size of government and the economy.
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