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

The following table is from the results of the “Social and Governmental Issues and Participation Study of 2008”. It seems around 50% of Americans who participate in one or more government social programs report that “they have not used a government social program.” Given the public’s broad lack of support for social programs, I would speculate that many of these people are those who regard program beneficiaries as “parasites”, conveniently excluding themselves from the group.

It’s also interesting to see which program beneficiaries are most convinced that they are not using a government program. Beneficiaries of programs that assist people who are middle and upper class (529/Coverdell, Mortgage Interest Deduction, and subsidized student loans) are much more likely to believe they are self-sufficient individualists compared to the most vulnerable (Medicaid, Subsidized Housing, SSI, Head Start etc.) Even 43% of unemployment insurance beneficiaries don’t feel they are using a government social program. Nearly everyone I know has received unemployment at one point or another in their life.

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