Why do poor peopple vote Republican?

Question

We all know that the GOP is out to line the pockets of the rich, so why do they do it?

True lightning, but if you look at the vast majority of "Red" states in the southeast and midwest, they are poorer states.

Gee didn't think so many people would be talking about taxes. I guess you guys have found better use for that $300 dollar check than me. And here I thought that the poor were the beneficiaries of way more tax dollars than they spend. And for the record, I'm not talking about welfare.

Answer 1

poorly educated people vote republican. Any one with common sense and a heart will vote otherwise.

Answer 2

it is a misconception that republicans are just for the rich, the same with democrats being for the poor and minorities. republican party is supported by the Conservatives, and democrats by progressives and liberals. Most Americans want a traditional country where the government is small and people took care of them selves. the democratic party want a more open society, with a large government. The reason the republican party poll numbers are down is the war in Iraq. War is never a positive subject.

Answer 3

That's a question that has bothered me forever, too. And no answer I've been able to come up with is pretty.

I believe it's mostly because so many of the poor are ignorant and easily misled because they tend to not think for themselves. They're easily manipulated. All it takes is any of these key words or phrases, no matter how stupid the reasons or logic behind how they're used, or no matter how blatant the lie why they're being used:

God/Jesus
Patriotism
Terrorism/War On Terror
9/11
Freedom
Flip-Flopper
Soft On Terror
National Security
Tax Cuts
Defense
Al Qaida
Blue Dress
Left/Liberal
Health Care
Education Reform
Stronger Than It Ever Was
Frivolous Lawsuits
Prescription Drug Coverage
Missile Defense System
Axis Of Evil
Seeds Of Democracy
Welfare
Era Of Prosperity
Insurgency
Weapons Of Mass Destruction
Abortion
Cloning
Evil Empire
No Child Left Behind
Family Values

All it takes is a few of those words and phrases, and old King George has the poor, the feeble-minded, and the ignorant eating right out of his hands. No matter how hypocritical, untrue, unsolicited, undeserved, or downright full of crap the statements he makes.

Answer 4

Because they beguile them with other issues like gay marriage and abortion and national security. Some of the people above are talking about tax cuts. I doubt any of those people know the difference between tax returns and tax cuts. No matter what the government is, if you paid extra you get back some money, that's tax returns. To see how the tax cuts has benefitted you do the following: adjust your current salary/wage/pay to a base year say 1996 (10 yrs ago) by taking away the effect of inflation. find out the tax you paid in 1996 and the tax you paid in the current year. Find out the percentage of taxes by dividing your 1996 tax by your 1996 income and the current tax by the current income. Then tell me how the tax cuts have benefitted you. And again remember to adjust for inflation. In case this doesn't convince you, compare the gas prices in 1996 to the gas prices of the current year, you can also inflation adjust those numbers.

Bottom line, the tax cuts are only effective if the cuts beat the inflation rate. At the bottom level of income they make nearly no difference. Tax cuts, like taxes are progressive too. The rich get a bigger cut. For them the tax cuts make a big difference. Even you look at it in a simplistic way: If you earn $10,000 and your tax rate is 25%, you pay $250 in tax. If the rate is cut to 20% you pay $200. You save $50. On the other hand if you earn $10million then at the same 5% tax cut means a difference of $500,000. Now the rich person making $10million and the poor person making $10,000 still have to buy things in the same economic conditions. Gas prices have gone up the same for both, the prices of housing have gone up at the same rate for both. The price of food, health care, everything has gone up for both. How much of these goods and services can you buy with $50 extra? One month of gas? And how much does the $500,000 buy?

On the other hand look at the minimum wage bill. Republicans don't want to increase the minimum wage by even 70 cents! And they tied it in with the estate tax break which is in the order of millions of dollars. It is like saying, I'll give you 70 cents more if you give me $10million more. Very equitable, right?

The reason the poor folks from the south vote republican is because they are uneducated and the government intends to keep them so, so they can't think and see things for themselves. They want to put blinders on their eyes with irrelevant issues like gay marriage, abortion, national security etc. so that they don't see the real issues. It is like giving a child a pacifier so they won't want something else.

Answer 5

It isn't a matter of being rich or poor. I live in probably the largest area of poverty in the United States and I still vote Republican most of the time. I do this because I do not support gay rights or abortion, among other things the Democrats support. In fact, most people here do as well.

Answer 6

Do tax cuts for the rich that raise tax receipts by over 10% to facilitate more government spending equate to lining the pockets of the rich? You are so mindless. Learn the facts before you spout your propoganda garbage. Without the rich paying the overwhelming majority of all the personal income taxes, there are no programs for the poor you short-sighted and politically motivated fool.

Answer 7

It isn't just tax policy. Maybe the Dems don't have a clue on the so called "hot button" issues: Defense, terrorism, immigration, marriage, etc. Even when voters favor the Democrats, they vote opposite their stands on initiative propositions.

Answer 8

Do a little more research. Middle and Lower class as a whole has always supported the Democratic party. Mainly because of labor unions and the fact that the Democratic party campaigns on promises of taking from the rich and giving to the poor

Answer 9

Because the are sheep. They take these "tax cuts" as a friendly act but while they are jumping for joy over the $30 they get 17 social services have been stopped or budgets slashed.

Then there is the "moral" argument which I do not believe since the current Republican admistration has been the biggest fiasco to the detriment of the American people in history.

Answer 10

Sounds like masochistic thinking, doesn't it. Conservatives tend to want the rich richer and the poor poorer.

BTW: Welfare is just to help someone get onto their feet. And no, I don't support living on it instead of a job, but it beats being some Cons underpaid servant.

Answer 11

Gonzo hit it on the nose. I feel so sad for so many middle-income and lower wage earners, and so many well-meaning church folk, who vote Republican, and its for the very reasons Gonzo describes, and then some.

The ignorant are led like sheep.