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Social Status and How We Perceive the Need for Help

Posted by in on Jun 3, 2017 Tagged:

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to lead a national focus group study to better understand the public's perceptions about the SNAP (FoodShare in Wisconsin) program.

What animated my curiosity was this simple question, "Why is there so much antipathy for a program that provides a highly accurate and targeted benefit for families to buy food?" 

We know that all Americans share the commitment to help those in need. This is the generosity that we see every day where hundreds of Wisconsinites are volunteering in local communities at food pantries and meal programs throughout our state. This generosity is inspiring. 

So, why doesn't this generosity also extend to the help that the government provides through programs like SNAP and Medicaid? 

What we found in the project was that there is a social separation where 

My wife is a psychologist and so often, I