Exactly.
I'd rather write stuff I KNOW is correct than non-factual crap for the sake of length.
Besides, my SAT score lands me in the top five percent in the country (total score is 1990 out of 2400), so I'm not worried.
As others have pointed out, it's not so much the length (though it does seem rather short) as the fact that you did not really write an expository essay. You wrote a short opinion piece. The 1st person style, filled with rhetorical questions ("Am I being too harsh? Too cynical about those who live off the government?") is not right for this assignment. You have to write a well-developed essay with supporting facts (the usual essay format requires 3 supporting paragraphs). You simply didn't include much "meat" in what you wrote.
I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you got low scores because someone disagreed with your political views (that kind of relexive defensiveness can be self-defeating). As I said, I agree with your point of view on the issue but if I were scoring you I would give similar scores to the ones you got. If you're planning to take the SAT again, bone up on your essay writing skills. You're a good writer but this kind of writing would fit better on the opinion page of your school newspaper, not in an SAT essay or a college essay.
Speaking as someone with a 2200 GRE as well as a perfect essay score, and who has never made less than a 100 except in two cases in a liberals art college, I think I'm qualified to criticize you.
(1) Your scorers are being extremely kind. The Freepers here have covered all the reasons why.
(2) You're blaming your failures on ANYBODY but yourself. Doesn't sound exactly right wing. Here's a good rule of thumb to decide whether you're really at fault: if one person blames you, he/she's being cranky. If more than one person blames you, you're at fault.
(3) Being in the top 5% of high schoolers is nothing to brag about.
(4) Your essay in itself shows that you are quite lacking in tact, although that may be a consequence of your age more than anything else.
My suggestion is to log off FreeRepublic and continue your studies. Not that I shouldn't take my own advice...
Your essay was too short...probably matters less what you wrote. Besides, with a total of 1990, you should be fine. Although they include the essay, the colleges are still looking at the cummulative score on the other two sections as indicative of your SAT score. My son wrote a perfectly fine essay which was also very short and scored an 8. He knows to write a bit more on June 4th when he retakes it.