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posted by janrinok on Saturday June 02 2018, @05:31AM   Printer-friendly
from the was-not-expecting-that dept.

White Americans' fear of losing their socioeconomic standing in the face of demographic change may be driving opposition to welfare programs, even though whites are major beneficiaries of government poverty assistance, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University.

While social scientists have long posited that racial resentment fuels opposition to such anti-poverty programs as food stamps, Medicaid and Temporary Aid to Needy Families, this is the first study to show the correlation experimentally, demonstrating a causal relationship between attitudes to welfare and threatened racial status.

"With policymakers proposing cuts to the social safety net, it's important to understand the dynamics that drive the welfare backlash," said study lead author Rachel Wetts, a Ph.D. student in sociology at UC Berkeley. "This research suggests that when whites fear their status is on the decline, they increase opposition to programs intended to benefit poorer members of all racial groups."

The findings, to be published May 30 in the journal Social Forces, highlight a welfare backlash that swelled around the 2008 Great Recession and election of Barack Obama.

Notably, the study found anti-welfare sentiment to be selective insofar as threats to whites' standing led whites to oppose government assistance programs they believed largely benefit minorities, while not affecting their views of programs they thought were more likely to advantage whites.

"Our findings suggest that these threats lead whites to oppose programs they perceive as primarily benefiting racial minorities," said study senior author Robb Willer, a professor of sociology and social psychology at Stanford University.

[...] "Overall, these results suggest whites' perceptions of rising minority power and influence lead them to oppose welfare programs," Wetts said.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by bobthecimmerian on Saturday June 02 2018, @12:58PM (6 children)

    by bobthecimmerian (6834) on Saturday June 02 2018, @12:58PM (#687658)

    But they're happy to "Take *my* shit and give it to motherfuckers who won't get off their asses and earn their own" provided the motherfuckers are white. Explain that.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 02 2018, @03:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 02 2018, @03:10PM (#687702)

    Now what?

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday June 02 2018, @06:58PM (4 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Saturday June 02 2018, @06:58PM (#687782) Journal

    Remember Uzzard's got ADHD. By his own admission he's a barely-controlled ball of rage. This is why he's always going off about other peoples' "feelz," because deep down he knows that's a good 90% of his own thought process. Projection, hypocrisy, and ignorance, the unholy trinity of the reactionary right.

    If he ever looked at the big picture with a sober, straight face, he'd see where his "shit" is going, and it's *not* going downwards...

    --
    I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
    • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday June 03 2018, @01:30AM (3 children)

      Well not barely. You can tell by how it never gets allowed in the driver's seat. As for them being part of my thought process... they're not thoughts and I don't act on emotion. You should try it sometime. You'll get to be actually correct on an issue instead of just feeling that you are. You'll even be able to rationally explain why you are correct.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 3, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday June 03 2018, @03:09AM (2 children)

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday June 03 2018, @03:09AM (#687904) Journal

        That didn't look like it was never allowed in the driver's seat. At the very least that was some hardcore backseat-driving right there...

        --
        I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
        • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday June 03 2018, @10:34AM (1 child)

          It's true. I do allow small amounts of amusement at stupidity through. It's intentional and has passed through rational thought though. It's given in the hope that ridicule will help those it's directed at to correct themselves.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 2, Touché) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday June 03 2018, @08:46PM

            by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Sunday June 03 2018, @08:46PM (#688094) Journal

            Hasn't seemed to work on you so far...*sigh* Oh well. When someone is as old as you and stuck in this mode of thinking, odds are good only the reaper will bring you out of it...

            --
            I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...