Americans Who Use U.S. Gov't Social Programs Think They Don't Use U.S. Gov't Social Programs

You can forgive people who take legal tax breaks like the homeowner's mortgage deduction or child care deduction for saying they're not using government social programs -- most people would understand such a program to provide a benefit or payment or service directly to you, not just lower your tax burden. But a surprisingly (!) huge percentage of Medicare users claim to not use government social programs -- overall, about 50% of those who are direct users of such federal programs claim not to use any such thing. This pretty much is exactly the percentage of Republican and Tea Party voters, right?

44% of Social Security recipients and 40% of Medicare beneficiaries claim not to use any government social programs. Good job of deluding yourselves into opposing the very social-welfare programs thatkeep you alive, America! [ Boing Boing ]