Why Workers in Red States Vote Against Their Economic Self-Interest

[kaz]

Why don't record corporate profits trickle down?

Why don't job creators create any jobs with their record corporate profits?

Record corporate profits. In a recession. While everyone struggles to get by.

Corporations can raise employee wages and pay for it with record profits.

The stockholders don't want them to raise wages.

They want the dividends, thus the trickling down is taking a different path and taking longer because of the amount of investors.

Nonsense. Wages are set where you get the employees you need to maximize profits. That means if paying more generates more profit, you pay them more. If it doesn't, you don't. My best employees already are paid the most, and they get the most raises. My low performers get little, I get nothing for raising their wages.

 

[Barb]

For years, political scientists have wondered why so many poor and working-class citizens of so-called “red” states vote against their economic self-interest.
The wages of production workers have been dropping for 30 years, adjusted for inflation, and their economic security has disappeared. A smaller share of working-age Americans hold jobs today than at any time in more than three decades.
For them, a job is precious — sometimes even more precious than a safe workplace or safe drinking water.
This is especially true in poorer regions of the country like West Virginia and through much of Southern and rural America, where the old working class has been voting Republican. Guns, abortion and race are part of the explanation. But don’t overlook economic anxieties that translate into a willingness to vote for whatever it is that industry wants.
This may explain why Republican officials who have been casting their votes against unions, against expanding Medicaid, against raising the minimum wage, against extended unemployment insurance, and against jobs bills that would put people to work, continue to be elected and re-elected.
They obviously have the support of corporate patrons who want to keep unemployment high and workers insecure because a pliant working class helps their bottom lines.

As someone who has lived in the south for the past half of my life it always puzzled me why people in this region always vote against their self interests and defend the same people who exploit them . I attribute it to a plantation mentality ...

You're over thinking it. The cost of living is generally lower in red States and people you consider poor actually live and support themselves just fine. They don't need or want your handouts.

Red states access social services to a greater degree than blue - maybe you missed that part.

 

[KNB]

Why don't record corporate profits trickle down?

Why don't job creators create any jobs with their record corporate profits?

Record corporate profits. In a recession. While everyone struggles to get by.

Corporations can raise employee wages and pay for it with record profits.

The stockholders don't want them to raise wages.

They want the dividends, thus the trickling down is taking a different path and taking longer because of the amount of investors.

Nonsense. Wages are set where you get the employees you need to maximize profits. That means if paying more generates more profit, you pay them more. If it doesn't, you don't. My best employees already are paid the most, and they get the most raises. My low performers get little, I get nothing for raising their wages.

Are you comparing your business to Wal-Mart? Hate to break it to you, but you're not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart can raise employee wages across the board and still make massive profits. The company will not do this because Wal-Mart does not have any loyalty to its employees or to the communities that it takes over.

 

[bedowin62]

For years, political scientists have wondered why so many poor and working-class citizens of so-called “red” states vote against their economic self-interest.
The wages of production workers have been dropping for 30 years, adjusted for inflation, and their economic security has disappeared. A smaller share of working-age Americans hold jobs today than at any time in more than three decades.
For them, a job is precious — sometimes even more precious than a safe workplace or safe drinking water.
This is especially true in poorer regions of the country like West Virginia and through much of Southern and rural America, where the old working class has been voting Republican. Guns, abortion and race are part of the explanation. But don’t overlook economic anxieties that translate into a willingness to vote for whatever it is that industry wants.
This may explain why Republican officials who have been casting their votes against unions, against expanding Medicaid, against raising the minimum wage, against extended unemployment insurance, and against jobs bills that would put people to work, continue to be elected and re-elected.
They obviously have the support of corporate patrons who want to keep unemployment high and workers insecure because a pliant working class helps their bottom lines.

As someone who has lived in the south for the past half of my life it always puzzled me why people in this region always vote against their self interests and defend the same people who exploit them . I attribute it to a plantation mentality ...

You're over thinking it. The cost of living is generally lower in red States and people you consider poor actually live and support themselves just fine. They don't need or want your handouts.

Red states access social services to a greater degree than blue - maybe you missed that part.

i missed it because you cant back it up leftard

oh and the states with the highest numbers of African-Americans in percentage and totals are Red states. i guess you missed that part

 

[bedowin62]

The stockholders don't want them to raise wages.

They want the dividends, thus the trickling down is taking a different path and taking longer because of the amount of investors.

Nonsense. Wages are set where you get the employees you need to maximize profits. That means if paying more generates more profit, you pay them more. If it doesn't, you don't. My best employees already are paid the most, and they get the most raises. My low performers get little, I get nothing for raising their wages.

Are you comparing your business to Wal-Mart? Hate to break it to you, but you're not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart can raise employee wages across the board and still make massive profits. The company will not do this because Wal-Mart does not have any loyalty to its employees or to the communities that it takes over.

you cant prove what you said; because george soros thinks for you

 

[bedowin62]

The premise of arguing for "sacrifice" (as if bailing out the financial industry with the futures of or progeny wasn't "sacrifice" enough) from the American poor working class is the whole poor but honest piano tuner bullshit that encouraged the stakeholders (citizens) in a younger America to forgo the dream for a nightmare of unearned want in order to "contribute to the greater good."

Pie in the sky

The Preacher and the Slave:

Joe Hill

Joe Hill- The Preacher and the Slave (Performed by Utah Phillips) - YouTube

YAWN
so many hammer and sickle-waving losers here

You can drag that raggedy blow up doll out from under your bed as often as you like, you can hammer her as hard as you like, but justice isn't communism, our representative republic (as planned) isn't communism, and varying degrees of socialism isn't communism.

YAWN indeed.

and you can drag your "justice" blow-up doll out from under your bed all day; and pretend you arent what you are apparently too ashamed to admit you are

 

[KNB]

Nonsense. Wages are set where you get the employees you need to maximize profits. That means if paying more generates more profit, you pay them more. If it doesn't, you don't. My best employees already are paid the most, and they get the most raises. My low performers get little, I get nothing for raising their wages.

Are you comparing your business to Wal-Mart? Hate to break it to you, but you're not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart can raise employee wages across the board and still make massive profits. The company will not do this because Wal-Mart does not have any loyalty to its employees or to the communities that it takes over.

you cant prove what you said; because george soros thinks for you

I can't prove what? That Wal-Mart doesn't have any loyalty to its employees? That Wal-Mart employees are getting fucked by the company that they work for? That the corporation profits billions of dollars every quarter while the employees struggle by on food stamps? I don't have to prove it. Wal-Mart already proved it for me.

If George Soros speaks for me, then the Waltons definitely speak for you.

 

[bedowin62]

Are you comparing your business to Wal-Mart? Hate to break it to you, but you're not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart can raise employee wages across the board and still make massive profits. The company will not do this because Wal-Mart does not have any loyalty to its employees or to the communities that it takes over.

you cant prove what you said; because george soros thinks for you

I can't prove what? That Wal-Mart doesn't have any loyalty to its employees? That Wal-Mart employees are getting fucked by the company that they work for? That the corporation profits billions of dollars every quarter while the employees struggle by on food stamps? I don't have to prove it. Wal-Mart already proved it for me.

If George Soros speaks for me, then the Waltons definitely speak for you.

why aren they here bitching like the loser you are instead of you then?

face it; you're nothing but an insignificant idiot; on a rant. even Walmart employees dont care that you're here making a fool of yourself in their honor

 

[bedowin62]

The Walmart nearest me is full of mostly brown-skinned people; customers and workers alike; making money or spending money on what they need.

only a loser like you has a problem with that

 

[kaz]

The stockholders don't want them to raise wages.

They want the dividends, thus the trickling down is taking a different path and taking longer because of the amount of investors.

Nonsense. Wages are set where you get the employees you need to maximize profits. That means if paying more generates more profit, you pay them more. If it doesn't, you don't. My best employees already are paid the most, and they get the most raises. My low performers get little, I get nothing for raising their wages.

Are you comparing your business to Wal-Mart? Hate to break it to you, but you're not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart can raise employee wages across the board and still make massive profits. The company will not do this because Wal-Mart does not have any loyalty to its employees or to the communities that it takes over.

Strawman, I didn't say you pay more in wages if you can afford to. Try reading my post again.

 

[Barb]

The concept that people of conscience vote for what is best for the country rather than getting the most from government for themselves is so foreign to liberals that it defies their ability to comprehend.

Do you ever really listen to yourselves and then take a good look around at the people who are selling you that line of shit? What are they doing to uphold that principle? Degrading everyone's standard of living is not "what's best for the country."

Liberals should form an association of cynics. Cool.

We already have - it's an inoculation against the association of duh.

 

[dblack]

There seems to be two conflicting messages, coming largely from the same "side", in this thread. On the one hand, there's the claim that red state voters are dummies because they oppose the welfare state. And on the other, the claim that the 1% are the ultimate beneficiaries of welfare because it supplements low wage labor. Who's 'interests' are we talking about here?

 

[bedowin62]

Do you ever really listen to yourselves and then take a good look around at the people who are selling you that line of shit? What are they doing to uphold that principle? Degrading everyone's standard of living is not "what's best for the country."

Liberals should form an association of cynics. Cool.

We already have - it's an inoculation against the association of duh.

you call record welfare and food stamps "forward progress"

you are the Queens of Duh


idiots and hypocrites

 

[Barb]

Are you comparing your business to Wal-Mart? Hate to break it to you, but you're not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart can raise employee wages across the board and still make massive profits. The company will not do this because Wal-Mart does not have any loyalty to its employees or to the communities that it takes over.

you cant prove what you said; because george soros thinks for you

I can't prove what? That Wal-Mart doesn't have any loyalty to its employees? That Wal-Mart employees are getting fucked by the company that they work for? That the corporation profits billions of dollars every quarter while the employees struggle by on food stamps? I don't have to prove it. Wal-Mart already proved it for me.

If George Soros speaks for me, then the Waltons definitely speak for you.

And the Walton's cost the American taxpayers on the federal level and on the state and local level through benefits paid and local corporate welfare setting up shop everywhere they put local businesses out of business, degrading local economy's to the point that nobody has the money to shop anywhere else.

 

[ClosedCaption]

You're over thinking it. The cost of living is generally lower in red States and people you consider poor actually live and support themselves just fine. They don't need or want your handouts.

Red states access social services to a greater degree than blue - maybe you missed that part.

i missed it because you cant back it up leftard

oh and the states with the highest numbers of African-Americans in percentage and totals are Red states. i guess you missed that part

Dont click this link if you want to remain ignorant: Red States Are Welfare Queens - Business Insider

But I'll put it here anyway so you have no excuse

As it turns out, it is red states that are overwhelmingly the Welfare Queen States. Yes, that's right. Red States — the ones governed by folks who think government is too big and spending needs to be cut — are a net drain on the economy, taking in more federal spending than they pay out in federal taxes. They talk a good game, but stick Blue States with the bill.

Take a look at the difference between federal spending on any given state and the federal taxes received from that state. We measure the difference as a dollar amount: Federal Spending per Dollar of Federal Taxes. A figure of $1.00 means that particular state received as much as it paid in to the federal government. Anything over a dollar means the state received more than it paid; anything less than $1.00 means the state paid more in taxes than it received in services. The higher the figure, the more a given state is a welfare queen.

Of the twenty worst states, 16 are either Republican dominated or conservative states. Let's go through the top twenty.

New Mexico: $2.03
Mississippi: $2.02
Alaska: $1.84
Louisiana: $1.78
West Virginia: $1.76
North Dakota: $1.68
Alabama: $1.66
South Dakota: $1.53
Kentucky: $1.51
Virginia: $1.51
Montana: $1.47
Hawaii: $1.44
Maine: $1.41
Arkansas: $1.41
Oklahoma: $1.36
South Carolina: $1.35
Missouri: $1.32
Maryland: $1.30
Tennessee: $1.27
Idaho: $1.21
Does anyone else notice the overwhelming presence of northern "rugged individualist" states, like Alaska, the Dakotas and Montana, along with most of the South? Why it's almost like there's a pattern here or something.



Read more: Red States Are Welfare Queens - Business Insider

Whatever you do please dont read that. In fact, just say that its all lies and jam your fingers in your ears

 

[Barb]

Red states access social services to a greater degree than blue - maybe you missed that part.

i missed it because you cant back it up leftard

oh and the states with the highest numbers of African-Americans in percentage and totals are Red states. i guess you missed that part

Dont click this link if you want to remain ignorant: Red States Are Welfare Queens - Business Insider

But I'll put it here anyway so you have no excuse

As it turns out, it is red states that are overwhelmingly the Welfare Queen States. Yes, that's right. Red States — the ones governed by folks who think government is too big and spending needs to be cut — are a net drain on the economy, taking in more federal spending than they pay out in federal taxes. They talk a good game, but stick Blue States with the bill.

Take a look at the difference between federal spending on any given state and the federal taxes received from that state. We measure the difference as a dollar amount: Federal Spending per Dollar of Federal Taxes. A figure of $1.00 means that particular state received as much as it paid in to the federal government. Anything over a dollar means the state received more than it paid; anything less than $1.00 means the state paid more in taxes than it received in services. The higher the figure, the more a given state is a welfare queen.

Of the twenty worst states, 16 are either Republican dominated or conservative states. Let's go through the top twenty.

New Mexico: $2.03
Mississippi: $2.02
Alaska: $1.84
Louisiana: $1.78
West Virginia: $1.76
North Dakota: $1.68
Alabama: $1.66
South Dakota: $1.53
Kentucky: $1.51
Virginia: $1.51
Montana: $1.47
Hawaii: $1.44
Maine: $1.41
Arkansas: $1.41
Oklahoma: $1.36
South Carolina: $1.35
Missouri: $1.32
Maryland: $1.30
Tennessee: $1.27
Idaho: $1.21
Does anyone else notice the overwhelming presence of northern "rugged individualist" states, like Alaska, the Dakotas and Montana, along with most of the South? Why it's almost like there's a pattern here or something.



Read more: Red States Are Welfare Queens - Business Insider

Whatever you do please dont read that. In fact, just say that its all lies and jam your fingers in your ears

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to ClosedCaption again.

 

[KNB]

you cant prove what you said; because george soros thinks for you

I can't prove what? That Wal-Mart doesn't have any loyalty to its employees? That Wal-Mart employees are getting fucked by the company that they work for? That the corporation profits billions of dollars every quarter while the employees struggle by on food stamps? I don't have to prove it. Wal-Mart already proved it for me.

If George Soros speaks for me, then the Waltons definitely speak for you.

why aren they here bitching like the loser you are instead of you then?

face it; you're nothing but an insignificant idiot; on a rant. even Walmart employees dont care that you're here making a fool of yourself in their honor

They're probably at work. You really overestimate this forum's importance. Like typing on a messageboard is really going to change America, right? I do this because I'm bored. You do this because you think you're making a difference.

 

[bedowin62]

I can't prove what? That Wal-Mart doesn't have any loyalty to its employees? That Wal-Mart employees are getting fucked by the company that they work for? That the corporation profits billions of dollars every quarter while the employees struggle by on food stamps? I don't have to prove it. Wal-Mart already proved it for me.

If George Soros speaks for me, then the Waltons definitely speak for you.

why aren they here bitching like the loser you are instead of you then?

face it; you're nothing but an insignificant idiot; on a rant. even Walmart employees dont care that you're here making a fool of yourself in their honor

They're probably at work. You really overestimate this forum's importance. Like typing on a messageboard is really going to change America, right? I do this because I'm bored. You do this because you think you're making a difference.

NO i do this because far too many left-wing idiots causally spew their own hatred and intolerance; and get away with lies, distortions and propaganda

 

[Bombur]

why aren they here bitching like the loser you are instead of you then?

face it; you're nothing but an insignificant idiot; on a rant. even Walmart employees dont care that you're here making a fool of yourself in their honor

They're probably at work. You really overestimate this forum's importance. Like typing on a messageboard is really going to change America, right? I do this because I'm bored. You do this because you think you're making a difference.

NO i do this because far too many left-wing idiots causally spew their own hatred and intolerance; and get away with lies, distortions and propaganda

Are you trying to win an irony award or something?

 

[bedowin62]

you cant prove what you said; because george soros thinks for you

I can't prove what? That Wal-Mart doesn't have any loyalty to its employees? That Wal-Mart employees are getting fucked by the company that they work for? That the corporation profits billions of dollars every quarter while the employees struggle by on food stamps? I don't have to prove it. Wal-Mart already proved it for me.

If George Soros speaks for me, then the Waltons definitely speak for you.

And the Walton's cost the American taxpayers on the federal level and on the state and local level through benefits paid and local corporate welfare setting up shop everywhere they put local businesses out of business, degrading local economy's to the point that nobody has the money to shop anywhere else.

prove that; you're simply a fool.

if people working at Walmart didnt work there then ALL their needs would have to be met by the government you dolt; they would be on welfare completely and not getting a paycheck at all