We've often talked here about the Democratic Party's goal of making sure at least half the population is dependent on government in some way. Mitt Romney was skewered for his comment about the "47 percent," but the comment was completely valid and very pertinent because it referred to a permanent dependent class that will always vote for the party of government dependency.
That's how the Democrats intend to maintain permanent political power - by making sure that more than half the population is terrified of losing its government benefits.