Half of US social program recipients believe they "have not used a government social program"

[sasha031]

"Reconstituting the Submerged State: The Challenges of Social Policy Reform in the Obama Era," a paper by Cornell's Clinton Rossiter Professor of American Institutions Suzanne Mettler features this remarkable chart showing that about half of American social program beneficiaries believe that they "have not used a government social program." It's the "Keep your government hands off my Medicare" phenomena writ large: a society of people who subsist on mutual aid and redistributive policies who've been conned (and conned themselves) into thinking that they are rugged individualists and that everyone else is a parasite.
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/07/08/half-of-us-social-pr.html

[newfie11]

1. yeah and if it disappears THEN they will complain and bitch

It will be to late!

[sasha031]

3. it scares the crap out of me, the ignorance of so many americans

[Tesha]

2. But they drink Brawndo (because it has "electrolytes")! (NT)

[Ichingcarpenter]

4. As they send their kids to Public Schools go to the Post Office

get a book at the library, take a shower when they come home.....

[JuniperLea]

6. Call the cops when they need to...

And know the fire department will show up when called... and they will drive on public roads... the list is so long.

[JuniperLea]

5. I cannot tell you how many times...

I've heard TeaBaggers complain that Obama is taking us right down the road to socialism... and his wanting to fire copes, firefighters, teachers, etc., is their proof! They cannot understand that those ARE SOCIALIST PROGRAMS!!!