Does anyone else see something very weird in a bunch of blue collar… - Grin with cat attached — LiveJournal
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Oct. 23rd, 2008 07:19 pm
Does anyone else see something very weird in a bunch of blue collar workers (at McCain's urging) booing Obama's plans to "share the wealth"? Do they have that much trouble with maths?

McCain also claims that "Obama doesn't want to invest in policies that'll grow the pie". Having read "The Audacity of Hope", that's pretty much Obama's top priority.

It's pretty well known now that pretty much any fact can be checked. So why the hell don't people do so? It seems bizarre to me, given that McCain's campaign and running mate and the recent results of the policies of his party all seem to be turning into complete train wrecks, that the swing is so slight. So many people seem determined to vote "loyally" in the way they or their families have always voted.

From: drdoug
Date: October 24th, 2008 - 02:51 am (Link)
The blue collar workers booing redistributive taxes is only very weird if you don't understand the American Dream. The idea is that everyone could, if they just tried and worked hard enough, become very wealthy, and so if they do manage to do that through the sweat of their brows the last thing they want is the Government stealing their just rewards. The Joe The Plumber thing was a great example - he was upset at Obama's tax plans not because he'd be paying more now, but because he hoped to be earning a lot more Real Soon Now, and these tax proposals were undermining his dreams. Thus even mild redistribution looks like a tax on Hope.

I don't remotely buy it myself - it looks like a classic and obvious swindle on working-class people to me - but then I'm not American. Or working class come to that.