I started to make this a comment in this diary but figured if I wanted to expand the poll to make it a better indicator of how many people truly benefit from government assistance I should just make it myself :)
That diary (in case you didn’t see it first) was about a pending court case which may allow states to restrict access to government assistance (Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County, Indiana vs. Talevski). It included a poll asking simply, “Do you receive any government assistance.” I don’t. But I have. I think that’s the better yardstick for the otherwise immeasurable benefit of these programs.
When my first child was born I was 17 years old. I worked in a restaurant when my second child was born. I was a graduate student when my third child was born. Needless to say, we didn’t have a lot of money. I don’t think we would have made it through to the other side as successfully as we have without family, student loans, and WIC.
So let’s see.