Speaking to a group of like-minded conservatives, Mitt Romney disses the 47% of Americans who, he claims, “are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it.”
Raise your hand if you:
- went to a public college or university
- work for government (i.e., cops, teachers, firefighters, military, social workers, librarians, school janitors, judges, court reporters, bus drivers, etc),
- borrow books from a public library,
- work for or own stock in a defense contractor,
- get your electricity or water from a government-owned utility,
- went to, or send your kids to, public school,
- ride on government-run buses, subways or light-rail,
- use or work for the post office,
- went to college on the GI Bill, Pell Grant, state financial aid program,
- are retired and get Social Security payments,
- ever used food stamps,
- lived in public housing or had a Section 8 voucher,
- used a wheelchair ramp mandated by the Americans for Disability Act,
- get your health care from the Veterans Administration hospital,
- go boating or fishing in a government-run lake,
- have a job whose workplace is safer because of OSHA rules
- work for a company or nonprofit organization that has a contract with the local, county, state or federal government
- have a family member who depends on a government-subsidized home health care aide,
- pay for your medicine and medical care with Medicaid,
- got a tax subsidy for your mortgage interest and/or property taxes,
- recycle your garbage through your city’s sanitation department,
- took a vacation in a national or state park,
- own a family- or corporate-owned farm that is irrigated by a government-owned dam,
- played baseball or soccer or used the see-saw or swings in a public park or playground,
- got your polio and other vaccination shots at your public school,
- traveled with a government-issued passport,
- used an elevator inspected for safety by the local building department,
- eat food inspected for safety by the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
- went to a restaurant inspected by the local Health Department,
- were helped by a police officer, park ranger or firefighter,
- have a savings account in a bank regulated by the Federal Deposit insurance Corporation
- flew on an airplane inspected by the Federal Aviation Administration