Yes, I know you’re constantly changing the subject to deflect from your preference not to provide evidence for what you write; but you might want to consider that the main reason payroll taxes haven’t gone up is that over the last few decades, the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund has been essentially guaranteed for decades.
If you’re Bill Clinton in 1998 (or whatever), why would you propose raising payroll taxes when the system was viewed to be solvent for another 50 years? The fact that payroll taxes haven’t climbed in many years is at least equally – if not better – explained by the relative (but slowly declining) health of the trust fund, rather that your WAG that nobody can ever raise middle class taxes again.
And in case you missed it the last several times I said it, my goal here is not to debate each point with you and prove you’re wrong; it is primarily to illustrate that you can’t back up anything you write with citations and facts, therefore people should not take your arguments seriously. I feel as though I’m succeeding quite well in that more limited goal of mine.
And again, correcting me on a single point of fact which does nothing to disprove my larger argument does not accomplish that, although you are free to pat yourself on the back if you want to. You’re still wrong. Raising taxes on the middle class is politically impossible and has been for a long time.
Facts have to be interpreted. I said, “No tax increases since 1982, therefore taxes are now a third rail”. Turned out it was actually 1990, which does nothing to damage my argument in the slightest.
OP: I’ve been seeing articles like that for years. You must’ve noticed every once in awhile some lib will say that in the white working class beats the heart of a progressive lion and the Dems should court their vote and it’s a natural alliance and it will pave the future for a revolution in American politics. One problem with that theory: they’re some of the most obviously conservative people in the country. I mean, seriously, what sort of wish fulfillment fantasy BS is that? Then you have to handle the cognitive dissonance and so you just say they’re all brainwashed and voting against their own self-interest. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Don’t worry though, conservatives similarly embarrass themselves when they wonder why blacks and Latinos aren’t pulling the crank for the elephant. You know, they go to church a lot and they have hangups about homos. They’re secret conservatives, but the Dems tricked them!
I think it’s more a case that most people do vote their economic interests, Democrats are just confused about what those interests are. They have visions of middle class Americans accepting 60% tax rates like good Europeans in exchange for free college and better unemployment. Except even Europeans aren’t behaving like good Europeans anymore.
Social issues are WAY overrated in determining voting behavior.