Mitt Romney let it be known that he believes 47% of Americans are freeloaders. Entitled, he says. They pay no income tax whatsoever and will therefore vote for Obama no matter what, because they get their support from the government.
Now, this is how spin works. Saying it the way he did makes it sound like that 47% are sitting on their entitled butts, drawing stipends from the government and doing nothing with their lives. This is the myth of the welfare queen, writ large. He makes it sound as if these are entirely worthless people.
There is much that is wrong with that, not least the irresponsible use of statistics. …