OK, maybe not all of us. But a lot of us. Really a lot. Cornell political scientist Suzanne Mettler has an article in the Washington Monthly about what she calls the “submerged state,” or the massive amounts of money at play in various tax deductions (eg. the mortgage interest deduction) that benefit particular populations.
As the chart below shows, there are all kinds of tax deductions that many people take, but those same people continue to insist that they don’t get any help from the government. Mettler’s point, backed up by her survey data: despite their cost, these programs are invisible to the public, making the public more susceptible to claims that government is too big.
Thoughtbasket 
I work in the medical field and The government does a lot for the jobless and the under income but the only thing is certain people abuse it that it’s painful to watch them flaunt their Gold cards and any form of cards. I’m okay with it if they are helpless, destitute, disable, lost their jobs and other difficulties in life. But I see some strong men and women in their 20’s-30’s stronger than you and me getting away with. others have been doing it from one generation to the next. it hurts because we working middle class work ourselves to death but still have to even pay our co-pay when we get sick. sometimes it has it’s disadvantages. I hope people would use it for what they are really for. that’s why our gov’t is in such a financial mess. great post.