David Sirota: The Submerged State

[marmar]

from truthdig:




The Submerged State

Posted on Feb 17, 2011
By David Sirota


The Great Paradox—that is what future generations will likely call this era, and rightly so. Our children’s children will look back and see that just a few years after the deregulatory agenda of anti-government ideologues resulted in a horrific recession, American politics somehow became even more dominated by anti-government zealotry than ever before.

Logic-wise, the situation seems to make about as much sense as the alcoholic drinking more to cure his addiction. Politics, though, is no longer even mildly related to logic. It’s all about perception. And with so many media outlets using scare and scandal to chase audience share, “government” is now presented in almost exclusively headline-grabbing—and therefore negative—terms. Think: wasteful bank bailouts, never-ending wars, outrageous sexual escapades and any other government-themed stories that entice you to read, listen, watch, click and loathe.

The dynamic, of course, has disconnected the “government” brand from what Cornell University professor Suzanne Mettler calls the “submerged state”—i.e., the government services that we like but that we don’t notice. We’re talking about noncontroversial stuff like picking up trash, putting out fires, paving roads and paying out earned benefits. When those functions are performed properly, they rarely receive recognition as government successes because, by definition, performing them properly means being fast, efficient and thus almost invisible.

Mettler’s upcoming book details exactly how the twin phenomena of sensationalism and submergence have conspired to sow mass cognitive dissonance. Citing findings from her nationwide survey, she shows that while most Americans conceptually support submerged-state pillars like federal education tax credits, student loans and mortgage interest subsidies, a majority of those benefits’ recipients nonetheless tell pollsters they “have not used a government social program.” .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_submerged_state_20110217/