This will be a quickie post that rams together several thoughts that really should be separated into several separate posts. But I have to start the monumental task of cleaning out an old lady's house. The tyranny of stuff. 

Yesterday, a good discussion broke out in our comment section about this widely distributed map, which shows which the states that have the highest number of people who don't pay income tax. 

 

The point of that map (which has been widely circulated) is to show that much of Romney's base is receiving government benefits of some form and that his comment about people feeling entitled to benefits must have offended them. 

The Republican party is a weird coalition of social conservatives, many of whom are not wealthy, and wealthy country club types. Right now, Democrats are trying to drive a wedge between those two groups and hope to depress the social conservative vote in November. That's just smart politics. 

Artemesia wrote a really smart comment that helps to explain why there is resentment against the undeserving poor and why it might be stronger in the South. 

But I grew up in a red state. And I think we need to consider a different interpretation to the Moocher States map: when voting citizens see others, especially people close to them – their neighbors, their children – using government services instead of working, they are more likely to vote against candidates in favor of those social programs that (in their view) encourage that behavior. There are many people who badly need the safety net – but there are also people who behave irresponsibly – or at least are perceived to – because the safety net is there.

In my blue state, very few middle-class kids are getting pregnant out of wedlock or having children before they've gone through college. People on welfare (this is based on my work for a state agency, otherwise I would know NONE) are chronically ill or can't speak the language or have no education and limited intellectual potential.

In my red home state, there are more white babies born out of wedlock than to married couples. People with middle class upbringings I graduated with are on disability but in bowling leagues. And this is who voters in those states see – not those who truly need the safety net.

We can't solve this unless we understand.

Look, the economy sucks. All of us are either working too much or aren't working as much as we would like. Much of America is either exhausted or depressed. That causes people to look at their neighbors with suspicion and bitterness.

 In my old neighborhood of contractors and teachers, I would see the guys out mowing their lawns at 4 and not see my tired hubby trudging down the block from the bus stop for another 4 hours. Some days, not my best days, I would feel resentful. And they would look at me getting my kids to the bus stop in my jogging pants and they would hate me for not going to work. They had no idea of everything I was doing after the school bus left. They would see my husband in his tie and his iPod and they would assume that we were rich bastards. We all know people who we think have gotten professional rewards that really should have gone to us. Resentment and bitterness is not isolated in the South. It's everywhere right now.

However, it's irresponsible to use that bitterness and resentment, which is based on ignorance and hurt, and use it for political gain.

It is also politically stupid to divide America in two groups of government moochers and hard workers, because nearly all of us are government moochers of one kind or another.

I'm hearing a lot of people question Romney's IQ right now.

And here's where I take a weird digression, because I am rather rushed at the moment. The teachers' strike in Chicago. I haven't posted on it, because I don't have any unique thoughts on it at the moment. I do think it's interesting that the key issue of the strike revolves around merit pay. Who deserves a raise? People who work harder or people who do the time? How do we measure hard work? 

I really should post more links to the Chicago strike. In the meantime, I just read a blog post from a conservative education policy writer, Jay P. Greene. I don't agree with many of his points, but it was still interesting. Jay makes a distinction between true merit pay and false merit pay. Curious what you guys think about it.