Political science professor Thomas F. Schaller’s latest Baltimore Sun column responds to the claim that “President Obama won re-election because Americans want ‘free stuff’.” He argues that “contrary to what talk-show conservatives imply, many government programs skew toward middle-class and upper-income Americans” and usage of federal benefit programs is near universal, rather than tied to political affiliation.
Schaller writes, “according to political scientists Suzanne Mettler and John Sides, 96 percent of Americans have benefited from at least one (and typically more) of just 21 federal programs, ranging from student loans to the mortgage interest deduction, from the employer health care exemption to Medicare. Most of the remaining 4 percent are too young yet to have benefited but will. We’re all beneficiaries.”
Schaller also commented for a Washington Post story recapping the election in Maryland and Gov. O’Malley’s prominent role in the passage of ballot measures on same-sex marriage rights, gambling and education for undocumented immigrants. “It was almost as though he was standing for a second reelection,” Schaller told the Post. “To a certain degree, his administration was on the ballot.”
Tags: CAHSS, PoliticalScience
