> It's worse than that: people support eliminating the estate tax (aka
> "death tax") because they think their own taxes are too high, *even though
> the repeal would have no effect on their own tax bill*. Bartels calls this
> "unenlightened self-interest." And he marshals evidence showing that it's
> not just a matter of being poorly informed; there are real conceptual
> difficulties linking A and B to C.
>
> Read the paper <http://www.princeton.edu/~bartels/homer.pdf>; it's
> extraordinary. I wonder if Canadians and others would react the same way
> as Americans, or if this is yet another case of American exceptionalism.
>
> Doug
---------------------------------------------------
I think what's exceptional about the US is its bifurcated political culture,
almost evenly split between small-c conservatives and liberals, mostly
Democrats but also including independents and scattered urban Republicans.
In Canada and Europe, the small-c conservatives are far fewer and wield much
less influence, even in the Conservative parties. I think the postwar race
tensions, spread of US imperialism, and the sharp decline in the social
weight of the unions explain the massive growth of American conservatism,
especially outside the big cosmopolitan metro areas. So I tend to look at US
opinion polls with this division always uppermost in mind.
This would also appear to be the case here. Bartels on pages 26-27, for example, examining the data, notes that "the apparent effects of these control variables on support for the Bush tax cuts are generally similar to the effects reported for repeal of the inheritance tax; conservative ideology and Republican party identification are strongly related to support for the tax cut..." This again points to the need for Wojtek, who leads the chorus of despair for "American culture", to be more precise about which one - liberal or conservative - he is referring to when he offers his doleful comments, and for Carrol, who leads the Tweedledee/Tweedledum choir, to reflect on the fact that this deep cultural and political split goes a long way to explaining the different dynamics between the two mass parties, notwithstanding the clubbiness of their leaders and the inherently bipartisan foreign policy of an imperialist state.
MG
---------------------------------------------------------
> Marvin Gandall wrote:
>
>>I agree that this is another depressing example of "false consciousness",
>>which I think has mostly do with people believing that tax cuts in these
>>times offer a more promising way of improving their take home pay than
>>fighting for higher pay and improved social benefits. This view is
>>reinforced both by the decline of working class economic and political
>>power, and ruling class promotion rather than resistance to tax cuts. The
>>fact that there may be more than offsetting cuts to social programs
>>doesn't
>>occur to many working people, or are regarded as something uncertain and
>>far
>>off whereas well-defined tax cuts promise immediate relief. Some popular
>>support for tax cuts is also animated by hostility within the working
>>class
>>towards the poor, especially racial and ethnic minorities and new
>>immigrants
>>("them") who experience higher than average unemployment and are seen as
>>disproportionately and undeservedly benefiting from "too high" taxes and
>>government spending.
>
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