Low incomes make poor more conservative, study finds

[Hannah Bell]

You might think that in a time when more money is concentrated in fewer hands and incomes vary wildly from billions to subsistence, poor people might increase their support for government policies that offer some help.

Not in America.

New research findings add complexity to the basic assumption that humans act in their own economic self-interest. By analyzing hundreds of survey questions from 1952 to 2006, Peter Enns, assistant professor of government, and Nathan Kelly of the University of Tennessee found that as inequality rises, low income individuals' attitudes toward redistribution become more conservative. Their paper appears in the October issue of the American Journal of Political Science.

The researchers also examined public opinion data on the question: Should government increase spending on welfare, keep it the same or decrease it? "As inequality rose, the high- and low-income respondents on average become less supportive of spending on welfare," Enns said. "And this is not because low-income people are unaware of inequality; our results show they are more aware of it than most people."

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-incomes-poor.html

[dkf]

1. I think that people know instinctively that when Government is in debt

All kinds of taxes and fees go up even for the poor.

People are less interested in what they can get through redistribution and more interested in how they and their kids will struggle to pay more taxes.

Interesting bit of research there.

[jpgray]

16. Forty percent can't name the Vice President. Yet they tremble at T-bills?

That's a rather specific diagnosis.

[WinkyDink]

19. Nice fictionalizing here.

[xchrom]

2. Recommend

[Bucky]

3. Maybe poor nutrition starts to interfere with cognitive functioning.

Honestly, this reminds me of that weird phenomenon in starving Ireland where, way down at the bottom of the income spectrum where people are so hungry that there's actually an upward sloping demand curve. Because of the potato blight, so much starvation was introduced in the market equation that increases in prices actually produced increases in demand. Humans under deprivation conditions start doing economically counter-intuitive things. Not that conditions in America's poorest quarters are actually as bad as 1840s Ireland, of course. All Republicans really starve the poor of is hope. Once you break their spirit, they know better than Oliver and don't walk up to the headmaster requesting "Can I have some more please, sir?"

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. as Kris Kristofferson's song put put it: "Everybody needs somebody that they can look down on.

Somebody they can feel better than anytime they choose."

If one looks at the rural South of the United States - low income whites have always been among the most politically and socially reactionary demographic groups in America.

Particularly among the white working poor there is almost a natural tendency to know that they are not the lowest of the low - particularly if they are just poor enough to not qualify for government programs - but still poor enough to feel the real pain of poverty and sense of social disgrace that comes with it.

In a class divided society where the terminally ill rich get a lot more sympathy for their situation then those who cannot even afford adequate treatment.

It is a mistake by some on the left to fantasy that a total 1930's stile economic collapse and depression will trigger a rise of the left. If we recall the 1930's - yes the socialist and communist movements did grow - but it was the fascist who experienced an even more meteoric rise to power. In a society that fundamentally believes that everyone has a chance if they just try hard enough and where the rich are idolized - I would guess that would be a more likely response.

[Rowdyboy]

10. No group anywhere is as reliably knee-jerk right wing than poor southern whites

who live in constant fear that what little they have will be taken away by poor blacks and Hispanics.

Your analogy is spot on. In the 1930's Father Coghlin on the far right had far more lasting influence than Huey Long on the far left. Very sad

[OneGrassRoot]

5. Fascinating, and sad. Maybe part of it is....

that during struggle, people are more susceptible to fear-mongering (right-wing talk radio, for example) and thus social conservative viewpoints.

I also wonder if there is a chicken/egg thing going on.

Thanks, and K&R.

[Meeker Morgan]

6. Considering how much our "liberal" government is re-distributing TO the rich ...

Yeah OK. Some of the public spending "trickles down". Right?

[mdmc]

7. why work so hard when the dole isn't that much less?

I work in human service - my clients have $400.oo for food per month, and $150.oo for spending money. Rent, utilities, and medical care / medications are covered.
I work FT and don't have as much "assets" = I certainly don't have real access to affordable medical treatment.
Is it fair?

[Motown_Johnny]

8. the (R)s have known this for decades, it is how they continue their existence

By increasing poverty and wealth disparity they win votes on both ends of the economic scale.

I guess it is good that we now have a study that spells this out. I hope some good can come of it.

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

9. fear of the other

Posted among the responses at the link, by Thrasymachus.

"The truth is that conservatism as a political philosophy is grounded in the fear of others. Fear that what you have will be taken away by someone else, fear that others will have the power to order you around. Fear increases at both ends of the social spectrum when inequality increases. The wealthy fear for their income potential, and the poor fear for their survival. When inequality abates, so does fear of the other, for he is more like you now, and the political philosophy of cooperation and hope for the future becomes more plausible and alluring."

This is an angle which rarely seems to be discussed, but it seems like it should be. When the conservatives hold power, the message of "fear your neighbor" seems to show up everywhere in our culture. We need to fight the fear.

[ipaint]

11. We need to fight the inequality which the government supports. nt

[CanonRay]

12. I've found this to be very true when canvassing

go up to the door on in the crappiest neighborhood, junk cars on the lawn, etc. and what do you get? Die hard Republican. I always thought it was because of the religious aspects.

[GoCubsGo]

13. I'm positive that religion plays a major role, too.

A lot of the fundie preachers are preaching this warped message that people are rich because God is rewarding them for being "better Christians." And, these same preachers tell them that you can't be a "good Christian" if you are liberal/Democratic/socialist...

[backscatter712]

21. I saw that too - Rush Limbaugh dittobots, living in trailer parks.

Boggles my mind.

[hobbit709]

14. Never made me more conservative

In fact it went the other way. And most of the people I know feel the same.

[Gormy Cuss]

15. No, what it found was that higher income inequality made low income people more conservative.

Big difference.

[amborin]

17. Gramsci spoke to this: the Horatio Alger myth

[Silent3]

18. But, but... a socialist uprising to throw off the tyranny of capitalism...

...is just around the corner! Once we experience enough economic pain, and especially if the whole world economy collapses... at least according to many DUers.

This study backs my own suspicions: If conditions take a big turn for the worse in this country, its citizenry is much more likely to turn hard right in response before it moves even modestly left. There is no simple application of pain and misery that will suddenly cause people to view the world and its problems through an anti-capitalist, pro-worker prism.

Americans will blame liberals and intellectuals and gays and illegal aliens long before blaming crony capitalism and the politicians who enable it.

[leftstreet]

22. This country already is pretty hard right

Not suggesting you're wrong, but there's a process happening here

[bobbolink]

20. Does anyone consider the fact that there aren't AWARE organizers reaching out to poor folk?

I haven't read the article, but from where I sit, what I see is that NOBODY with a political bent is doing any kind of listening and organizing with poor folk.

We are left on our own to figure it out. Given that vacuum, it is no surprised.

You have all written us off, and there we are.