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Census figures show more than one-third of Americans receiving welfare benefits

mak2 said:
well, you cant really expect Fox news to tell the whole truth...
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How is it not the truth? If the government is providing you assistance it is welfare, imho.
 
Lursa said:
I paid enough for me. I'm going to be pissed when all the current losers cant keep up with their end and there's nothing left for me.
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It annoys me somewhat that people say they paid for themselves. That is not how the program works.
 
Lakeside said:
Who said that they could vote RIGHT NOW? And who says you need to vote to get benefits? Don't you people ever think about what you write before you hit "ENTER"?
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You might want to go back the post I was responding too before you post something even more ignorant.

Hint: You should take your own advice before you hit ENTER! LMAO
 
TeleKat said:
It certainly seems problematic, but bear in mind this may include things like Veterans' benefits and college aid. "Receiving government assistance of some kind" is rather vague.
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Consider the source of the story too.

assistance comes in many forms, section 8, ebt, snap, va (as mentioned) heating, in my state Badgercare ( no more) and a few others I can't even think of presently. Some people working two minimum wage jobs to keep up, Walmart employees on welfare because they don't pay living wages, etc, etc..
 
tres borrachos said:
That's exactly what needs to happen here, but the focus seems to be on Fox.

The definition of welfare is used too broadly by both sides, which is why I mentioned "corporate welfare" in an earlier post. To me, welfare recipients are the people who get the check and the TracPhones simply because they exist. Senior SS recipients paid into SS their entire working careers. Not welfare, IMO.
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SS is welfare. Your ignorance of how SS works doesn't change the fact that SS is a form of welfare.
 
EnigmaO01 said:
You might want to go back the post I was responding too before you post something even more ignorant.

Hint: You should take your own advice before you hit ENTER! LMAO
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You have to be joking? YOU responded to what I wrote. I rest my case about the "Enter" comment. ROTFLMMFAO
 
mak2 said:
well, you cant really expect Fox news to tell the whole truth...
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Just for ****s n grins, I typed in Americans on welfare, in a Google search, and there were very few hits for left leaning media outlets, there were hits on websites like Faux Noise, American Stinker, and other Reich wing sites.

Would I be wrong to believe this is a mid-term election year bunch of propaganda from the Reich wing?
 
Ockham said:
And give up your progressive liberal stance as a "moderate"? I know what it's not - and you're not a moderate.
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Pat Robertson is a flaming liberal compared to you, so maybe it's your judgement that is off?
 
Lursa said:
54
.......
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I'm 2 years younger than you, and I'm starting to think what we paid into it all these years won't leave enough for people our age. And that sucks because I'm sure you like me paid a lot into it. I would have invested that money myself instead but I had no choice in the matter.
 
Maybe it is partisanship, or repeating the same thing over and over and over, or the need for confirmation bias with a complete lack of critical thinking? I am not really sure exactly how the RWNM does it but it sure is effective.
Middleground said:
It sort of is, Tres. What Fox did was create a deceptive headline that does not match reality. How can you not see it?
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Middleground said:
It sort of is, Tres. What Fox did was create a deceptive headline that does not match reality. How can you not see it?
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It depends apparently on how you define "welfare", MG. If you include anything that comes from the government coffers, the headline isn't wrong.

I'm willing to say the headline is wrong. And everyone who calls tax breaks for corporations "corporate welfare" plans to apply the same definition to citizens, then the headline isn't wrong.
 
tres borrachos said:
It depends apparently on how you define "welfare", MG. If you include anything that comes from the government coffers, the headline isn't wrong.

I'm willing to say the headline is wrong. And everyone who calls tax breaks for corporations "corporate welfare" plans to apply the same definition to citizens, then the headline isn't wrong.
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Many news outlets use the same tactic. The absolute worse is the Huffington Post. They always write these scary, eye-popping, OMFG headlines that do not match the content in the same grandiose scale. Even Jon Stewart made fun of them this week. Having said that, the HP is NOT a major news outlet and a lot of their content is fluff. Major news outlets should take better caution to not mislead. I can guarantee you that they don't give a **** who reads the content, as long as the 'scary' headline sticks.
 
reinoe said:
SS is welfare. Your ignorance of how SS works doesn't change the fact that SS is a form of welfare.
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You're right, we should abolish the system, just pay me back the money I've put in since age 14 and I'll take it from there....Thanks.
 
Middleground said:
Many news outlets use the same tactic. The absolute worse is the Huffington Post. They always write these scary, eye-popping, OMFG headlines that do not match the content in the same grandiose scale. Even Jon Stewart made fun of them this week. Having said that, the HP is NOT a major news outlet and a lot of their content is fluff. Major news outlets should take better caution to not mislead. I can guarantee you that they don't give a **** who reads the content, as long as the 'scary' headline sticks.
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Never watch Jon Stewart and you reminded me why I never read HuffPo. ;)

I take the assumption at this point that there are 3 kinds of people who read/watch Fox News: those that agree with every word they say, those that are open minded about what they say, and those that are just interested in ripping apart what they say.

For the first group (probably the largest), they were going to vote against the Dems regardless of the accuracy of this headline or not.
For the second group (like me), they probably don't base their votes on the number of people on welfare anyway, and they (like me) can't seem to find consensus anywhere on what is "welfare".
For the third group, they seem to worry too much about the first group.

If you read this thread, the definition of "welfare" is all across the board. So if you broadly define it, the headline is probably accurate. If you narrowly define it, the headline is wrong.
 
j-mac said:
You're right, we should abolish the system, just pay me back the money I've put in since age 14 and I'll take it from there....Thanks.
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Dare to dream....but I'm with you. Cut me a check tomorrow and we'll call it a day.
 
mak2 said:
The OP was intentionally misleading and dishonest. Why are the conservatives defending it?
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Because they are conservatives, any lie will do to smear the left.
 
mak2 said:
Maybe it is partisanship, or repeating the same thing over and over and over, or the need for confirmation bias with a complete lack of critical thinking? I am not really sure exactly how the RWNM does it but it sure is effective.
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I work with a couple of people who are expert in web psychology, and what they tell me is truly fascinating. They have proven me wrong on a few occasions, so I know better not to doubt what they say.

In this day of fingertip information, people are more lazy. So many website to visit, so little time. I am willing to bet that few people have even bothered to even click on the link in the OP, and I bet it's the same for most links provided here at DP. So outlets know they have a short attention span to garner interest, so they write these over the top headlines, that, in many cases, are enough to satisfy curiousity. This is why so many people are misinformed, even years after the story broke.
 
j-mac said:
You're right, we should abolish the system, just pay me back the money I've put in since age 14 and I'll take it from there....Thanks.
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I've already spent it all, too bad! :lamo
 
Jaaaman said:
He stated Fox News doesn't tell 'the whole truth'. I replied that several news outlets practice the same kind of journalism. Do you dispute that?
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Masses of people watch Fox News as their only news source. Not many watch MSNBC at all. I'd have to say that it would appear that there are far more people disinformed by Fox News than MSNBC.
 
tres borrachos said:
Okay. So you don't consider any kind of government assistance as "welfare".
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I only consider it welfare if it is means tested. Government benefits in themselves aren't a discouragement to being productive. But means testing those government benefits are.
 
DaveFagan said:
What's shocking? We are in the 7th year of the G. W. Bush Great Depression and nobody wants to acknowledge it. With our new moron at the helm of the gov't, we'll never get out. More of the same.
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We won't get out of it with republicans in congress either. The only way we can get a better economy is if we elect a republican POTUS and dems in congress. that's when deficit spending (stimulous) increases the fastest.

but since when did we start calling 2% GDP growth and 6.2% unemployment rate a depression? That's really not far for the 20th century average, and is likely the new norm for the 21st century.
 
Ockham said:
And give up your progressive liberal stance as a "moderate"? I know what it's not - and you're not a moderate.
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Everyone who is left of a right wing extremist is considered a left wing extremist by those on the far right. And I could flip flop the words left and right and it would be equally true.

Extremists don't have the ability to differentiate between moderate and the other extreme. Extremist see only black and white, they are blind to all the shades of gray.
 
Henrin said:
It annoys me somewhat that people say they paid for themselves. That is not how the program works.
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It's a generational contract. If they fulfilled their end of the contract, then they paid for themselves.
 
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