One in six Americans now receive some form of government assistance, USA Today reported early this month, and the latest IBD/TIPP poll found that the figure is nearly two in five (or 39%) when public aid is calculated per American household. Our definition included assistance in the form of Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps and/or jobless or disability benefits, but not Social Security. The more detailed breakdown shown below offers few surprises, but some contrasts — high school vs. college education, married vs. single women, investors vs. non-investors — are still striking.