Voting Trends and Economics
Tax payers vote Republican, Tax receivers vote Democratic
JoeUser Forums
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Funny thing about numbers and what they mean.
Take this exit poll from CNN from the 2000 election. Overall, the voters are about even.
Most people who make less than $30,000 a year do not pay any federal income tax. You may pay some at the time but you get a tax refund at the end of the year. As someone who supports progressive taxes, this doesn't really bother me -- though I do think everyone should have to pay a certain flat fee so that they feel the pinch of what supporting expensive and wasteful federal programs means.
If you take out those two groups, you have 23% of the voters (at least) who pay no or virtually no federal income taxes.
So if you break it out like that you end up with:
| % of pop | Gore | Bush | |
| Not paying income tax | 23% | 55% | 40% |
| Pay income federal taxes | 77% | 44% | 48% |
If one translates this to political party, you get an interesting picture. People who don't pay federal income taxes tend to vote for Democrats. People who do tend to vote for Republicans. And in fact, the more taxes you pay, the more likely you are to vote for Republicans.
There are lots of conclusions one can draw to put either side in a negative light. But it is an interesting fact how this works out.
Each side can charge the other side with "greed". The rich want to keep more of their money. The poor want more of someone else's money.
My view is that the rich have a responsibility to their country to pay a greater burden of the taxes. The rich didn't get rich magically. They got rich largely thanks to the country we all built together. However, at the same time, those who aren't paying into the system should quit bitching about how "the rich" aren't paying enough or that they're getting off easy.
