r3, what % of people do you think really believe "the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it -- that that's an entitlement."?
It would have to be a tiny, tiny number.
BTW, not paying income tax is not a sign of freeloading, as I'm sure you have been told, but I'll say again for those who haven't heard:
-2011 is the most recent year
-2011 is also a high unemployment year
-53.6% paid income tax (46.4% did not)
-28.3% were working, but did not make enough money to owe tax, under the tax code. Most pay pay state, local, sales, gas and/or property taxes too.
-10.3% were elderly
-6.9% earned under $20,000 a year and did not owe money, under the tax code (including students)
-all of a sudden you're left with less than 1% of the nation's adults not paying taxes, including many who were able to jigger themselves below the tax level through mortgage deductions, medical deduction, reduced rates on capital gains and dividends, and other parts of the tax code
Mitt Romney was massively wrong.
Not millions of poor people vote Republican, especially among the elderly. Gallup polls of registered voters, 37% of those making less than $36,000 a year indicated they planned to vote for Romney. Rasmussen polls showed 40% of those making less than $20,000 planning to vote for Romney and 50% of those making between $20,000 and $40,000 supporting Romney. And those are Republicans' favorite pollsters!