Recently I had the opportunity to listen to Suzanne Mettler give a talk on government programs and on how people view the U.S. government. What I found most interesting about the talk was the fact that most people–regardless of income level–receive some sort of aid from the federal government. This is contrary to the common belief that only low income people receive government aid. What does vary based on income, however, is the type of aid–particularly whether that aid is visible or not. Most government programs that provide visible aid are primarily used by the poor, which makes it look like they are the only ones receiving aid. However government programs, such as tax deductions for people with mortgages, primarily aid higher-income people. As a result, everyone benefits from government programs, but people of higher income are less likely to realize it. This leaves me wondering if an increased awareness of how higher-income people benefit from government programs might help combat the sigma against “welfare” in this country.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Rose Café event with Dr. Suzanne Mettler from the department of government, where she educated us on her own study about how citizens use their government programs.  As a statistics major myself, it was interesting to visually see the charts and data she had collected to bolster her argument that even though there is an increasing distrust for the government, citizens’ use of government benefits is also increasing. Dr. Mettler asked us questions about mandatory voting and whether or not we find it convenient to vote ourselves. Toward the end of the discussion, Dr. Mettler suggested the solution of making voting day a national holiday, as is the case in many other countries. This would allow people with busy schedules to go out and vote and increase population participation as a whole.

On February 20th, I attended the Rose Café event and heard from Dr. Suzanne Mettler from the department of government. I learned that there is a growing disconnect between citizens and the government. It was interesting to hear that even though there is an increasing distrust for the government, citizens’ use of government-provided benefits is also increasing. At the end of the discussion, Dr. Mettler asked questions about mandatory voting and rather or not this policy should be enforced. Based on the discussion, there are many factors that take place in changing our voting system to be mandatory. I agree that making voting date into a holiday would allow more people to willingly vote and express their choices.

I had the opportunity last week to attend Suzanne Mettler’s talk on the relationship between the government and U.S citizens. Although I had been aware of the increasing negative attitude and distrust for the government, I was still surprised by magnitude of it and how along with this increasing sentiment there is also increase in use of government aid. Furthermore, I realized that I never really gave thought to how all of us have maybe once used government aid. Something else that came up towards the end of the discussion, and that I found truly interesting, was the thought on mandatory voting, I have always believed that it should be something to consider, especially since most voters are radical left or right whereas the majority of the U.S is moderate, it just isn’t shown because those people most likely don’t vote. There is also a great “I don’t care sentiment” reinforced with the horrible choices we get.  The previous election is a good example of this. Trump is definitely not fit for power, but Hillary was also very untrustworthy. These two made two of the most horrible choices out there and left people questioning. This is one of the reasons I did not vote in 2016. In the same way I believe we need more choices than just Republican and Democrats, which more often than not seem like the same party.

At last week’s Rose Cafe, I heard Professor Suzanne Mettler speak on the disconnect between American citizens and the government. Of particular note in her talk, I found, was that many citizens do not realize all of the ways which they benefit from government. For example, while most would acknowledge a direct payment as part of welfare or food stamps, far fewer understand programs like the tax credit that mortgage-payers receive to be benefits they receive from government. This has startling implications for how  individuals understand their own relation to government, and it’s proper role in their lives. For example, people of higher economic status, Professor Mettler finds, are more likely to use more hidden government benefits than overt ones, which means that they are less likely to notice how they benefit from government and therefore (all things being equal between them and someone who benefits the same amount from overt government programs) more likely to support a reduction in government benefits and scope.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a talk with Professor Mettler in the Government department about government programs, discussing the growing reliance of government aid despite a lack of governmental trust. It is true that we tend to forget the benefits provided by the government and take them for granted while we complain more frequently in aspects that the government has not fulfilled. One point of the discussion that interested me was about how Professor discussed an imbalance in the political dynamic between the two parties in the United States, and how the Republican Party is slightly more stubborn in making/projecting their decisions towards the public. I believe that this two party polarization is further promoting distrust against the government. As this polarization has severely divided the political dynamic within the United States, it will be essential for students like us to become more interested in the political spectrum to make more informed decisions, and to take a simple action of casting our own vote. Our views may not necessarily lie at the polar extremes, and voting is a primary way to express our concerns against the government if we have any.

For this weeks Rose Café, Professor Mettler came and spoke about the interesting phenomenon of how more people are relying on government programs for financial stability, but at the same time there is a growing distrust of the government. It was especially interesting to learn that there are far more government policies and programs that financially benefit people than I previously thought, and many of them extend across all income levels. Many of these policies though, are not branded as aid programs like others are, and so many people do not think of them as government aid when in fact they are. For me though, the most interesting part of the talk was listening to Professor Avery talk about the right to vote, and how when she lived in South Africa she was denied the opportunity to vote and so she feels very strongly about taking advantage of the being able to vote here in the US. As I used to live in Australia where voting is mandatory, did not think of voting this way. My parents and many of my friends who had to vote spoke of it as a chore, and something they were simply mandated to do. Since moving to the US, I have kept this attitude about voting, and have never really taken an interest in participating in elections. However, speaking to Professor Avery has persuaded me of the importance of voting, and I will try to become more active in the next elections.