How have rich conservatives convinced middle-class and poor Americans to support them?

Question

It's not too hard to understand how Republicans and neo-conservative idealogues can gain the support of wealthy people since they gain protection for their interests in the form of tax breaks and handouts. How is it that lower-income and middle-income Americans are STILL being fooled into thinking the Republican party represents their interests? Were they really dumb enough to be fooled by the $300 tax rebate check that barely covers 2 weeks groceries for a family while the rich got vastly more than their share? Do they really believe that trickle-down economics work and that the middle class is going to rebound any day now.

Have they forgotten when a ONE member of a middle class families salary was enough and mom AND dad didn't BOTH have to work? Was it that long ago?

Are Republicans THAT good at fooling the ignorant flock of sheep eager to be told what to think? It's hard to believe is it not?

Answer 1

By spewing lies and hate for decades.

Through repetition and bogus reasoning.

Look how many here are claiming Democrats would take all their money in tax raises, when Dems don't want to raise taxes of the poor and middle class, they want to reverse the tax cuts for the people who have all fo the money.

And, of course, all that blather about how science, and the notion that people of color and women are human beings, and should not be considered property.

Where have you been? Those things are responsible for the disappearance of security and the middle class.

And don't forget, if humans are allowed to marry the humans of their choice, then everyone will marry dogs and goats.

(Gotta love the logic.)

What's strangest is that people so often vote for those who disagree with everything they believe (environmental protection, stem cell research), and who are destroying their way of life.

All because they buy the lies.

Answer 2

I agree with Laissez-Faire's answer with the following additions.

First you use the term Republican and conservative as if they are synonyms, they are not Republican is a party whose platform tends to lean more Conservative. Conservative is a political ideology.

Next, I do not accept your premise that Conservative are the rich. I make less than $30,000/ year and am very Conservative. Look at the incomes of our senators and representatives, you have to get pretty far down the list before you come to the conservatives on the income scale.

As far as your statement about the tax cuts, everyone got the same % of reduction that is more fair then the confiscatory system we currently use for taxation. The rich get more back and in doing so create work for more people. When the poor get $300 they buy food, clothes etc. (all good things) but when the rich get $50,000 back they buy luxuries (It takes a lot of people to build a yacht) or put money into a business. (When was the last time a poor person gave you a job?)

Answer 3

1. People who earn a lot of money naturally want to protect it from thieving liberals. When someone earns money, it belongs to them, not the government.

2. The top 50% of earners pay 96% of federal income taxes. The top 10% pay 34% of federal income taxes. When you give a federal income tax, this is who it must go to.

3. True Republicans, not what is in Congress, want everyone's taxes cut. If you got $300, you are $300 better off than you were before. We need radical changes in Congress to get a meaningful tax cut.

4. Trickle down economics work if you implement them. The problem is politicians cut a tax here and add an increase there. Zero sum game. The right way to handle economics is implement the Fair Tax and force citizens to pay for their own health care, retirement, etc. It will cost less this way. By pumping money back into the economy, people have more to spend and thus more profit is made. You also have to focus on the eliminated taxes on savings and investment. By having a flat sales tax, there is no cost to investment capital.

5. Both mom and dad have to work because of all the taxes we have.

6. I am sick of punk liberals like you calling me an idiot because I am a Republican. Can you have a discussion that does not involve insulting conservatives and Republicans?

Answer 4

1. $300 for 2 weeks of groceries? I have 4 people in my family and we never spend that much. What are you buying? And if they are so "poor" they should be on food stamps.
2. The reason one salary used to work but doesn't now is because Americans have "stuffitis". They have to have stuff. Cell phone bills, cable bills, 2 expensive cars, internet bills, expensive game systems, brand name labels. Of course 2 people have to work to have all this EXTRA stuff.
3. Please provide proof of your non-educated statements. How did the rich get more than their share? I didn't realize we all had shares. I thought we worked for what we earned. Did I miss something? And why should the rich pay a higher % of taxes than the poor?
Hey when you make 1 million a year I think you should pay 75% of it in taxes and give the poor 50% of what's left over and you live off the rest. I think that's pretty fair, don't you? Especially since you "earned" it and they didn't.

Answer 5

Because in the end, the rich conservative's policies work for all.

You've probably bought into the bull that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. Wrong! Census data proves that the poor get richer too, just not as fast. I've linked to that data below. It shows that over time, all income groups get richer. And not just in straight dollar amounts, but especially after inflation has been factored in. Since 1980, the poorest 20% have had their incomes grow 14%, again that's after inflation has been factored in! The middle class (the middle 20% of household incomes) gained 19%!

Oh yeah, those Bush tax cuts. They made my federal income taxes go to zero in 2004. I made $41K that year. Am I rich? And millions of others dropped off the tax rolls. The truth is that everyone got their taxes cut. If the person paying only $1,000 a year got only a hundred bucks back, while the person paying $100,000 a year got $10,000 back, is that unfair? The rich pay far more taxes. It's only natural they would get more back.

As for the demise of the one income household, maybe it's because we're all being taxed too much! The Tax Foundation computed that the average tax payer is paying 31% of their income in federal taxes. This includes all federal taxes, not just the income tax. Then add another 10% for all your state and local taxes to that, and the average taxpayer is paying over 40% of their income in taxes.

Gee, that's just about equal to a second income, isn't it???

So which group has been known for raising taxes in this country? The rich conservatives? Nope. It's the liberals. If you want to blame someone for our ills, you are blaming the wrong people.

Answer 6

Many of them really don't remember or have not stopped long enough to look at the recent past and compare it to today. It's not the liberals or conservatives, it's corporate demands and lobbyists pandering for favors. They don't care about what it costs the little man or if we are taxed to death to provide for the poor allowed to infiltrate us 'against our laws' or to provide for the luxuries those politicians desire. The banks own the country, we are slaves to them, our government is the puppet. We are so far in debt to those banks we will never get them paid off. THAT is where our Federal Income taxes go. We should NOT even be paying Fed. Inc. Tax.

The rich corporations pay Corp. Fed, Inc. Tax which funds the military.

The individual pays Fed. Inc. Tax on the same income the corporations paid into corp. income tax. There is no defined place our Fed. Inc. Tax goes. (because it goes to those banks but they won't tell you that) We should NOT be paying Fed. Inc. TAX. WE are giving THEM a service, an even trade- they get our work, we get compensation for that work. WE should not pay Fed. Inc. Tax on our 'service'. That same money is being taxed twice by the Feds.

Answer 7

Not sure I understand what you're trying to say here.
According to Federal statistics compiled by the IRS...the people whose incomes are in the top 25% pay 85% of all the taxes.
If you want to make it more "rich-specific"...the people in the top 10% income bracket pay almost 70% of all taxes.
And to hit the real high earners...those in the top 1%...they pay 37% of all taxes just by themselves.

Doesn't seem too accurate (or too smart, to be candid) to pretend that the rich have somehow convinced the poor and the middle-class to "support" them...when it's the rich paying the vast majority of all the taxes.

Answer 8

Republicans have hitched their wagons to conservative Christians and hot button single voting issues like abortion and cutting taxes.
What these folks forget is Republicans do not have any moral high ground on the Democrats (and I am an independent folks). They are just as much a secular organization as any other that is in politics today.
They've just been very bright about bringing people into the fold that vote on single issues regardless of their beliefs on any other issues.

Answer 9

Why are we all fooled into thinking the Democratic Party is the answer as well.

All politician Doe for Dolo (Go for self). Have you seen what type of pensions a Senator or Congressperson gets with just one term in office. They cost tax payers more when they are out of office.

Understand our politicians or decision makers make up 1% of our population and ultimitely decide what is best for all of us.

Answer 10

From my perspective only:

I am far from rich or middle class even - the tax breaks helped my family very much. Much more than the increases we will incur as the result of the Democrats plan to increase minimum wage.

I am not fooled into believing that the middle class will ever rebound. As long as there are politicians there will always be someone that wants more of my money than they want me to keep. Republicans, Democrats, it doesn't matter. One wants it for themself the other wants to give it away. I'm am a realist first and foremost!

As for both parents having to work now - I blame that on the women's movement. We wanted equality, now we have it!