Voting against your own economic self interest (unemployment, Simpson, suspect)
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Most of the "booty" stolen from most of the "taxpayers" did not go to the government but to the wealthy that own the government. It was not stolen by government but by the private financial sector in 2009 among other times.
Who took the money from the taxpayers and handed it out while skimming off some for themselves?
That's right Greg, a government comprised of both D's and R's.
You see, governments operate in much the same way a crime family does, except with a crime family your participation in their services is largely voluntary.
Those that are very wealthy and vote democrat aren't voting against their own self interest, as they stand up for what the founding father's wanted to allow everyone the opportunity to the american dream, not just the very rich.
Please draw the straight line from paying more taxes to greater opportunity for all.
Remember the book,"What's The Matter with Kansas"by Thomas Frank? In it,he complains about his own native state of Kansas wrongly voting for Republicans who's policies favor the wealthy. He complains Republicans have used wedge issues to distract voters away from their alledged self interst. As if big government is in the best interest of people.
Anyways,it got me to thinking. Could you not argue trhat many Democrat/Obama voters are voting against their own self interst? After all,look at high income areas like the Silicon Valley,the northshore suburbs of Chicago,the Philly suburbs. They include many wealthy or at least higher income people. Are they simply supporting Dems because it's considered fashionable? Are they that obsessed with social liberalism they will support candidates who will raise their taxes and could regualte them out of business?
Let's test your theory. What policies does each side hold and support?
Democrats:
Fundamentally, they believe that government can be a positive force and foster useful outcomes.
They want to keep Medicare and Social Security as untouched as possible; they believe that the wealthy should be paying more in taxes and capital gains, interest and dividends should be taxed as ordinary income; they believe that there should be a social safety net; regulations that protect health, safety and the economy are reasonable.
Liberals considers the modern welfare state -- a private-enterprise economy, but one in which society’s winners are taxed to pay for a social safety net -- morally superior to the cut-throat capitalism we had before the New Deal, where the poor were allowed to die of starvation. It’s only right, this side believes, for the affluent to help the less fortunate.
Republicans:
Fundamentally, they believe that government creates problems instead of solving them and shouldn't do anything more than run the military, courts and the Post Office.
They want to convert Medicare into a voucher system, where seniors will take those vouchers and buy health care insurance (ignoring the fact that insurance companies don't want to insure bad risk seniors for a price far more expensive than the vouchers provide); Social Security should be privatized; they believe that taxes on the wealthy should be lowered and there should be no capital gains tax at all; they believe that everyone, including the very poor should pay income taxes; they believe that there should be no social safety net and cut or eliminate all programs that aid the poor and middle-class; industry should not be regulated at all.
More recently, the GOP has been cooped by the right wing conservatives who believe that people have a right to keep what they earn, and that taxing them to support others, no matter how needy, amounts to theft. Many activists on the right really do see taxes and regulation as tyrannical impositions on their liberty.
These are the stark differences between the two parties, as I see them. How anyone can conclude that Republicans represent the interest of most Americans is mind boggling. Judging from the policies they support, they clearly represent the wealthy.
Many of those people actually work for a living. Why would they vote for a creep who pays a 13% tax rate when their hard earned wages are taxed at more than double that? I hate Romney with every single cell of my entire body. And I'm easily in the top percentile of household income earners. It infuriates me that we just wrote out a huge check to the IRS while that pig doesn't pay his fair share.
Why would I want to vote for a slimeball who only wants to make that inequality even worse? Let alone who is hostage to the insane religious right?
Goodness. Just because he's smarter economically and knows better how to use the legal tax codes is no reason to hate him. When you reach that fantasy top percentile, you, too, can hire a financial adviser who will help you lower your tax debt.
Many of those people actually work for a living. Why would they vote for a creep who pays a 13% tax rate when their hard earned wages are taxed at more than double that? I hate Romney with every single cell of my entire body. And I'm easily in the top percentile of household income earners. It infuriates me that we just wrote out a huge check to the IRS while that pig doesn't pay his fair share.
Why would I want to vote for a slimeball who only wants to make that inequality even worse? Let alone who is hostage to the insane religious right?
So Romney has actually abided by the tax law in this country and you dispise him for that?
Your outrage should be directed at the politicians on both sides of the aisle who use the tax code to buy votes and have played a role in the tax code we see today.
I'll never understand Socialists who covet yet refuse to understand that every single federal tax in this country promoted to "tax the rich" has eventually hit the middle class the hardest.
I don't begrudge Romney for being rich. I begrudge Romney for being completely insensitive and unaware of what most Americans go through. I begrudge Romney for supporting the interests of the wealthy at the expense of most Americans.
Romney keeps underscoring his cluelessness. A week ago he said something about going out and going to college -- and borrow money from your parents, as if parents always have tens of thousands of dollars hanging around for children to borrow.
This is a person who represents the GOP, which believes that taxes on the wealthy should be raised; taxes on everyone else should be raised; Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security should all be slashed and programs that help most Americans should be reduced.
I don't begrudge Romney for being rich. I begrudge Romney for being completely insensitive and unaware of what most Americans go through. I begrudge Romney for supporting the interests of the wealthy at the expense of most Americans.
Romney keeps underscoring his cluelessness. A week ago he said something about going out and going to college -- and borrow money from your parents, as if parents always have tens of thousands of dollars hanging around for children to borrow.
This is a person who represents the GOP, which believes that taxes on the wealthy should be raised; taxes on everyone else should be raised; Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security should all be slashed and programs that help most Americans should be reduced.
That may make a good bumper sticker but doesn't hold up to a grain of scrutiny.
Kerry believes in policies that help the middle class. Romney doesn't. Kerry also believes in raising taxes on the rich, even though his personal taxes would rise. Romney doesn't.
Since liberals are more intelligent, maybe some just want to seem intelligent.
I got a good laugh over this one. I have a die hard liberal that lives across the street from me. If that is what passes for intelligence I want to be an idiot. This man has no clue what common sense is. But he is entertainment for the neighborhood.
As far as voting against my own economic self interest. Voting for Romney or Obama is against my own economic interests. And unless anyone in this forum is very wealthy voting for either of them is against your own economic self interest.
But since most of you are just being good little sheep you will just vote for your team not even thinking of the implications.
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