A theory--people want to believe they are rich, or will be one day

[jpgray]

I can't figure out why so many low-to-middle income Americans support economic policy that is positively to their disadvantage. Take the estate tax--I've seen bellyaching on this very site about the damage it does to families, but less than 3 percent of deceased adults in 2002 had estates subject to the tax. Less than three fucking percent. In other words, it ain't you, and it ain't your family--it's very wealthy people who will benefit. So why support it? Well there are talking points. People give the "it's for regular folks who want to pass on a farm or small business" angle, and that's nonsense as well. Only 440 estates in 2004 based primarily on farm or business income paid the estate tax. Including all estates that include even just a -part- of farm and business income, you only come out to 38% of taxable estates--most estates subject to the tax have no farm or business income to speak of. Repealing the tax therefore benefits people who do not own farms, and do not own a business.

And then take tax cuts, deregulation, social security privatization, a national sales tax--all supported by rubes for reasons that utterly escape me. Why is it that people support these things? I have to believe it's a similar situation to the yeoman farmers who supported the system of slavery in the South--the system is choking the life out of them, but they believe that one day they can take part in the inequity on the side that benefits. And I think that makes the difference. And this is by no means a geographical phenomenon--we have the same syndrome up North.

[Missy M]

1. I believe you are right about people believing they are rich or will..

be rich one day, therefore they want the estate tax repealed. I don't think they understand how it works. They also believe it is a death tax and many think any little money they have to pass on will be taxed at their death. This is what the bush administration wants people to believe.

[1932]

2. Also remember, so few of the people most hurt by these polices vote

and also remember that now MONEY determines who wins elections more than almost anything else.

We have a system set up NOT to represent the interests of people hurt by these policies.

I've also seen a study that shows that the more polarized wealth is in a country, the less liberal its citizens generally are.

The money that drives politics today brainwashes people effectively, and it also creates a spiral effect where the vast differences in wealth within the society stoke some crazy sense that we're all moving up to the top when the reality is that the slope keeps getting steeper with fewer and fewer people getting more and more. Vast differences also create a desire that clouds people's judgment -- you think you want politicians who are going to satisfy your desire to rise rather than politicians who will create a health satisfy which puts everyone on the same level.

[bleedingheart]

3. Affluence by Association

that is what I call it when people vote for something they want to be a part of ...

they vote GOP when they live a hard scrabble life cuz one day they will be like those "country club folks"..

[LostInAnomie]

4. I think a lot of it is just relativity to those in their community.

In general most people don't have a concept of what it really means to be rich. They live in a community were if you make 70K a year you are extremely well off in comparison to the rest of the community. Their own arrogance won't allow them to identify with the "lazy poor" so they identify with the rich. Even though the truly rich spend more than they make a year on jewelry.

[jpgray]

10. That's a good point (nt)

[lonestarnot]

5. I'm with you, this is the most confounding, bumfuzzling phenomena I have

racked my brain over and over trying to figure out. And many of these people are not stupid.

[JI7]

6. i read where a large percentage of the population think they are

in the top 1 percent of income groups. and that an additional large percentage think they will be there soon.

[ikojo]

7. If only people read about the myth of class mobility

they would see that the class one is born into is pretty much the same class one dies in.

We are sold the MYTH of Horatio Alger to keep people from revolting against an unfair class structure. If people swallow hook line and sinker the lie that if only they toil hard enough, they, too can be Bill Gates (who was born on third base and used class based connections to hawk Microsoft) then they will be less likely to challenge capitalism.

[dsewell]

8. It's called the "lottery society"

and has become a general phenomenon in this country. There have been some good economic and sociological discussions of the increasing "winner takes all" nature of various domains of US society, from sports to entertainment to business. The superstar athletes make extraordinary salaries while athletes just slightly less gifted make far less; the gap between CEO salaries and everyone else's has expanded greatly; a few films are blockbusters, the rest fall off the screen; and so on.

The fascination with reality shows like "Survivor" and "The Apprentice" is connected with this. So is the consolidation of state lotteries into multi-state mega-lotteries awarding obscene amounts of money to winners.

The failing of human intuition to correspond to actual statistical probability is notorious. That's the only reason I know why people think that the potential ability to enjoy unchecked wealth is more important than relative economic well-being for the less well-off in whose ranks they will almost certainly remain for the rest of their lives.

[mitchum]

16. You are absolutely correct about the "big score" mentality and the...

popularity of those abysmal reality shows.
You too can be a winner!

[raccoon]

9. I think a lot of people do believe this. In spite of the

overwhelming odds against it, they believe it. I think it usually takes the form of believing that one day they'll win the lottery.

Maybe for some people false hope is better than no hope at all.

[LibDemAlways]

11. The media never reports that the

so-called "death" tax affects only the very rich. I think people have been duped into believing that their relatives (I refuse to call them "heirs")are going to be taxed on the couple of bucks they leave behind.

[jpgray]

14. Isn't that the media's job?

I suppose mega-conglomerates like Viacom, Time Warner and GE don't really see the profit in doing that job.

[Ripley]

12. Advanced Propaganda plus Religious Brainwashing =

Dummies R Us. I don't mean to criticize real religious people who are encouraged by their churches to think and question authority. But for the majority of those Corporate MegaChurches, the lies they tell are the same as the lies told by TV News.

We need to tax the churches and Kill the Corporate Media.

[BillZBubb]

13. There obviously is something to your point.

As others have said, the Horatio Alger myth has been drummed into everyone's head and people stink at understanding statistical probabilities.

Another big part of this, though, is just the total dislike of government. People have also been sold the Repug myth that government is bad, unnecessary, and even worse predatory of those who work. They buy it. Most people can't name one thing the government does for them that is worthwhile. Even while driving on an interstate, making a phone call from a rural area with the AC running, flying on a plane, eating food that doesn't make them sick, and enjoying a stable country in spite of a high poverty rate, etc, etc, etc.

Maybe a few clowns will realize from the NO debacle, that government is necessary. And good government even more so. I won't hold my breath.

[mitchum]

15. Some call it optimism...I call it lackeydom

[gulliver]

17. A fool and his/her money are soon parted.

The rubes aren't wise to the game. They see tax cuts to the wealthy and think "What do I care if the wealthy get tax cuts?" But the money is coming from somewhere. The government is spending more under Bush and the wealthy are paying less in taxes...do the math.

There's that old saying that if you don't know who the patsy is, it's you. The rubes just don't know who the patsy is, and the cotillion Republicans are very expert con men and women.

I don't think most people believe they will one day benefit from the estate tax cut. They are just willing to trade it for a little gay bashing, a little holy rolling, and a little bit of keeping the blacks out of their neighborhoods. And the Bushies make it seem completely painless for the rubes to lose all that money by shifting the tax bite to the states and onto the credit card through deficit spending.