Poor conservatives, I don't get it. Righties please explain.

[krazen1211]

I recently spoke with a hard core Republican who makes not much more then minimum wage who was opposed to the Jobs Bill because it would raise taxes.  WHAT!  Are you kidding me, With his Clinton era Earned Income tax rate, and his Obama era Make work Pay $850, he probably pays little to nothing in taxes. 

Poor liberal doesn't realize that the bulk of the EIC historical expansions have occurred under Republican Presidents, and that the Making Work Pay credit has expired.

The answer is obvious. Here in New Jersey the Democrats and the NJEA take money from working poor and give it to the rich unions.

[krazen1211]

I also think the more liberals complain about "poor people voting against their best interests", the more some poor people will vote Republican.

And the same goes for assuming nefarious motives instead of considering the issue from another's point of view (not that I've never done the same thing).

The whole 'what's the matter with Kansas' arguement is fallacious, anyway; if social issues were so unimportant, then the Democrats would have no reason not to adopt the social issues of those voting against them in order to try and advance their fiscal agenda.  The truth is, the Democratic and Republican coalitions simply appeal to different 'social issues' voters.

That's a pretty good point, actually.

I find it amusing that so many people take for granted that people "should" vote their self-interest. Maybe some people simply have values playing a part in their voting?

A lot of people don't like being talked down to by some arrogant liberal who thinks they know what's best for everyone. Naturally there will be a backlash.

[krazen1211]

While I might quibble with the way you put number 1, I would agree with assessment.

The original OP though was about a poor conservative complaining about the idea of tax rates going up. Why would people like him care? Because they think it will affect their employment, salary, and standard of living even if the brunt of the tax increases aren't directed squarely at them.

Granted poor conservatives that focus on the list you just provided outnumber poor FiCons, but that doesn't mean that there aren't a ton of poor FiCons out there(especially among younger folks). And its reasonably safe to assume that the people the OP is referring to that decry tax increases are more likely to be in the group I just mentioned not the one that you provided at the top.

But again we are also speaking in generalities here. There isn't a really a fine line between poor cultural conservatives and poor FiCons since there is large amounts of overlap.

But they do pay taxes. Here in New Jersey when they doubled the budget from $16 billion to $33 billion they increased taxes on poor conservatives.

Why?

Mostly to pay for massive increases in Medicaid and massive increases in the hiring of unproductive teachers and state workers. Neither of which benefits the common man.

[krazen1211]

While I might quibble with the way you put number 1, I would agree with assessment.

The original OP though was about a poor conservative complaining about the idea of tax rates going up. Why would people like him care? Because they think it will affect their employment, salary, and standard of living even if the brunt of the tax increases aren't directed squarely at them.

Granted poor conservatives that focus on the list you just provided outnumber poor FiCons, but that doesn't mean that there aren't a ton of poor FiCons out there(especially among younger folks). And its reasonably safe to assume that the people the OP is referring to that decry tax increases are more likely to be in the group I just mentioned not the one that you provided at the top.

But again we are also speaking in generalities here. There isn't a really a fine line between poor cultural conservatives and poor FiCons since there is large amounts of overlap.

But they do pay taxes. Here in New Jersey when they doubled the budget from $16 billion to $33 billion they increased taxes on poor conservatives.

Why?

Mostly to pay for massive increases in Medicaid and massive increases in the hiring of unproductive teachers and state workers. Neither of which benefits the common man.

Seriously?

The teachers are not particularly serious, no. Else their productivity wouldn't keep plummeting despite new technologies.

[krazen1211]

So it seems the two answers we have are
1. A view that forcing a specific flavor of Christianity upon everybody is more important than their own economic well-being.
2. A view that if they just keeping on doing what they've been doing, one day they will magically be rich.
And there you have it. Why a poor chooses to stay poor.

Seriously?  Have you even read the thread?

The Democrats don't really actually contribute to their economic well being. They just talk about it.

Poverty has skyrocketed under barack obama.

[krazen1211]

So it seems the two answers we have are
1. A view that forcing a specific flavor of Christianity upon everybody is more important than their own economic well-being.
2. A view that if they just keeping on doing what they've been doing, one day they will magically be rich.
And there you have it. Why a poor chooses to stay poor.

Seriously?  Have you even read the thread?

The Democrats don't really actually contribute to their economic well being. They just talk about it.

Poverty has skyrocketed under barack obama.

I'm sure that Social Security and Medicare, two landmark Dem accomplishments, that the GOP fights to weaken every day, has done nothing to fight poverty

What are you talking about? No, they don't. Social Security and Medicare spending skyrocketed under George W. Bush.

[krazen1211]

I'm sure that Social Security and Medicare, two landmark Dem accomplishments, that the GOP fights to weaken every day, has done nothing to fight poverty

What are you talking about? No, they don't.

Just thought I would throw that out there since you guys like posting links to The Weekly Standard so much.

Standard budgetary gimmickry. Medicare spending of course continues to rise.