Sometimes a single statistic can say 1,000 words. Here are a few facts and figures that encapsulate the dangerous path on which we find ourselves as a nation:

Out of wedlock births

1959: 5 percent

1980: 18 percent

2000: 33 percent

2010: 41 percent

Poverty rates and costs

1959: 22 percent

2011: 22 percent

Trillions: Amount spent to eradicate poverty between 1959 and 2011.

66 million: The number of Americans on food stamps or Medicaid.

$57,000: The equivalent in salary a resident of Pennsylvania would have to earn to equal the amount of benefits available to a nonworking resident through welfare, Medicaid, food stamps, Section 8 housing and other assistance.

Government support

21 million: The number of government employees in the United States.

16 to 1: The original ratio of worker to Social Security recipient.

3 to 1: The ratio today.

$120 million: The amount spent annually in the United States on Medicare for undocumented immigrants in prison.

426: The number of added New York government retirees in 2011 and 2012 with annual pensions over $100,000 (Nassau County had 121. Suffolk County had 93.)

58 percent: The increase in that number since 2010.

2,178: The number of government pension holders statewide making over $100,000 annually.

$151 million: The amount Suffolk County government pays each year on its pension system.

640 percent: Increase in the number of people on disability from 1959 to 2011.

But wait, there’s more

40 percent: The increase in marijuana use among young people since 2008.

1 in 4: Number of U.S. mortgages that are underwater.

39 percent: The number of Americans saying America’s best days are ahead of us.

45 percent: The number who believe they are behind us, according to a poll by CBS News.

Question: Could all the pessimism be a direct consequence of the statistical trends?

 Levy is president of Common Sense Strategies, a political, governmental and business consulting firm. He served as Suffolk County executive from 2004 to 2011.