Counter-Intuitive

“We are only falsehood, duplicity, contradiction; we both conceal and disguise ourselves from ourselves.” – Blaise Pascal

I recently wrote about what I consider to be the purposeful manipulation of valid information to further one’s political agenda. I waded through dozens of blogs, articles, and videos that focused on statements made earlier this year by Mitt Romney implying that the people that support Barack Obama do so because they are dependent on the government.

While many people have voiced outrage towards Mitt Romney's blatant disregard of almost half of the population, it seems that an even greater number of people have echoed his stance against the use of social programs, maintaining that "producers" should not be required to support "parasites." Personally, I have never quite understood the overwhelming disdain felt towards those that would have the audacity to accept help.

In 2008, a national survey conducted by the Cornell Survey Research Institute found that many of these self-proclaimed producers are, in reality, just as guilty of relying on the social benefit programs they are so adamantly against.


I first came across this survey in an article entitled “We Are the 96 Percent,” an Opinion piece that appeared in The New York Times late last month. The article was written through the joint efforts of Suzanne Mettler, a professor of government at Cornell University, and John Sides, an associate professor of political science at George Washington University.

The authors argue that almost all Americans have made use of at least one of twenty-one specific social programs at some point in their life.  The intention of the article is to eradicate the “us versus them” attitude that so many in this country seem to have.

The questions that followed asked participants to indicate whether or not they had ever used a specific program. The programs listed in the survey were not limited to the more obvious social benefits programs, such as Medicaid and Food Stamps, but included social programs with indirect benefits. The results of the survey revealed that only 5% of participants that had denied ever using government benefits had answered the question accurately.

Source: Reconstituting the Submerged State by Suzanne Mettler

Cognitive dissonance plagues a majority of Americans and has led to many to make counter-intuitive statements because they have convinced themselves that they are not one of “those people” and are completely self-reliant. A majority of the population seems ignorant to their own use of social benefit programs. 
Do not use any of the tax credits or deductions you qualify for.

The article addresses the common misconception that social benefits are limited to programs that provide direct access to food, medical care, and housing to low income earners. Despite the frequency of use by the public and the higher cost to taxpayers, indirect benefit programs are often overlooked because they are hidden in the tax code or provided by private organizations.

The survey cited in the article asked a number of questions regarding government social policies. The initial question asked participants to indicate whether or not they had ever relied on any government social programs.  The responses of 57% of those surveyed indicated that they had never made use of even a single social program.

Many that claim not to rely on government have use of an average of four social programs without acknowledging the government’s role in providing those benefits. This disconnect has led many to support the complete elimination of social programs because only the lazy would take government handouts. The line of thought seems to be that allowing those programs to exist will only encourage more to become parasites dependent on these government benefits.

If you believe that anyone that has depended on government aid is doomed to do so until social programs are eliminated, I encourage you to read this article written by Larkin Warren. The article humanizes the statistics and chronicles one woman’s journey from welfare mother to successful author.

“Judge-and-punish-the-poor is not a demonstration of American values...My parents saved me and then-on the dole, in the classroom or crying deep in the night, in love with a little boy who needed everything I could give him-I learned to save myself. I do not apologize. I was not ashamed then; I am not ashamed now. I was, and will always be, profoundly grateful.” – Larkin Warren

P.S. The boycotting of government handouts will only work if you abstain from every social benefit program. I have put together a brief sample list of actions that will ensure that big government knows how serious you really are.

While tempting, these forms of government assistance serve only one purpose: swindling hard working Americans like you into relying on the government.

Only take out private student loans.

Any existing Federal Stafford loans must be consolidated in order to counteract your former dependency on government.

Refuse to accept any scholarships or grants.

To put it simply, a free education is for Socialists and that's just not American.

Do not enroll in Medicare or Social Security.

Responsible people never retire and refuse handouts from Uncle Sam.

Never use the benefits earned from military service.

Why sully the sacrifices you made by accepting charity?