Most Americans seem not to want to admit it, but we have fairly Socialist, rather Christian tendencies as a country. You know, things like charity, feeding the poor, broad government assistance to reduce senior and childhood poverty, etc.
Consider this WSJ headline today that blares out “1 in 7 Americans Receive Food Stamps.” ONE IN SEVEN! That is a huge amount of folks on the public dole. As the very red map shows, this varies greatly by state. Oregon and Michigan have 20% of the population on Food stamps, NY and Texas have over 15%, California less than 10%, Wyoming only 6.6%.
When you ask Americans if they support these social programs in the abstract, a high percentage will oppose them. But as you get more specific — “Do you support feeding families/children who are on the edge of starvation”– suddenly, we become downright European.
Don’t believe me — look at the WSJ map below!
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/05/welcome-to-socialist-america/
The idea that a human should enjoy food, while another hungers, makes the latter awfuly hungry.
Comment by Sharon Jarvis
Entered on:
I'd like to know the specific polls that show most Americans oppose social programs. Somehow I doubt their veracity.
Meanwhile, idiots like Rush Limbaugh claim that helping the poor does not make America great and that charity is a failed experiment throughout history. I guess Rush isn't as smart as he claims. Every anthropologist and archeologist knows that even the Neanderthals took care of their old and sick.
2 Comments in Response to A Sad Picture Of Amerika: Interactive Food Stamp Map
The idea that a human should enjoy food, while another hungers, makes the latter awfuly hungry.
I'd like to know the specific polls that show most Americans oppose social programs. Somehow I doubt their veracity.
Meanwhile, idiots like Rush Limbaugh claim that helping the poor does not make America great and that charity is a failed experiment throughout history. I guess Rush isn't as smart as he claims. Every anthropologist and archeologist knows that even the Neanderthals took care of their old and sick.