Why do Republicans support tax cuts to the rich?
Three reasons.The first is based on this wonderful tool:This is the Laffer Curve, invented (supposedly on a napkin) during a lunch between two conservative economists, Arthur Laffer and Jude Wanniski. What this thing supposedly says is, there is one “magic” tax rate that maximizes government revenue. If the rate is too low, you’ll leave money on the table; according to the conservatives, if it’s too high you’ll discourage people from working harder. (Which is BS on its face; what a too-high tax rate really does is incentivize tax evasion.) The Laffer Curve is a great classroom exercise that doesn’t translate to the real world for many reasons, “there’s more than one tax rate in America” is at the top of the list. However, it was the basis for Reaganomics.Reason 2. In the 1960s we had a president named John F. Kennedy - the last president to be assassinated. One of his biggest acts was to cut the top tax rate from 90 percent to 70. This caused the national economy to take off like a rocket. The GOP remembers those halcyon days and thinks, “if we slash taxes we can replicate Kennedy’s success!” Kennedy’s success was something that will never be duplicated, and this is why.The tax rate was as high as it was so we could pay off World War II. By the time Kennedy was inaugurated, we’d reduced the war debt enough we didn’t really need the excess money. Our current tax rate is, if anything, too low - as witnessed by our very high national debt. If we were taking in enough money to pay the bills, the debt wouldn’t be that high.IBM and Remington Rand were bringing reasonably-priced computers to market; the savings from Kennedy’s tax cut made their purchase more feasible. We’re out of truly groundbreaking new technologies.Kennedy’s tax rate was still high enough - close to double the current one! - that the government could still afford to build bridges, shoot men to the moon and fund the schools. The federal budget is so tight right now, if a hurricane hits Florida tomorrow the first thing we have to do is figure out what in the budget we have to cut to afford a truckload of sandbags for Florida.Reason 3.Grover Norquist is the leading proponent of “starve the beast” tax structures, and he works hard to run off any congressman who won’t go along with him on them.
Why do Republicans want more tax breaks for the rich?
Bob:For real? So the rich really worked hard to get all the wealth right? What you just said was a really gross stereotype of rich people. Alot of people who are rich were either born rich cause their parents had money and when they got older, they inherited that wealth and they could afford to go to fancy private schools. They had fancy houses, fancy dinners, etc because of their parents(who were terrible business people and exploited others for money) and were inherited the wealth and these people never had to work a day in their life like Donald Trump for instant. But yet want to criticize others who are poor and struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their head. Rich people make alot of money so therefore should pay the most in taxes bottomline. At least punish them a little for the damage they have caused to this nation.
Why do non-rich Republican voters support tax cuts for the rich, repealing the ACA and reducing Medicaid?
Why do non-rich Republican voters support tax cuts for the rich, repealing the ACA and reducing Medicaid?Because many have spent years worshiping Saint Reagan, so they still believe in this failed “trickle down” economic theory.Many still clutch to this idea that if they give their corporate overlords and 1% masters even bigger tax cuts that some day they will be kind enough to let some of it “trickle down.Also, years of watching Fox News has ingrained many of them with this false idea that ANY sort of socialized aspects of society will automatically mean Soviet style communism and the government throwing you into a gulag.Add to that, some of them are very tribalistic, and are so seething in their hatred of liberals and Democrats, that they’d rather vote for Republicans out of spite, rather than vote for their own economic best interests.But the biggest is that many of them naively think that if they just “work hard” enough, that someday they’ll get to be the boss man on top, being the one getting to press their boots down onto the plebs below. They want to give massive tax cuts to the super wealthy, because they naively believe that some day they’ll be super rich just like them too, completely ignoring the fact that the system is rigged to be in favor of people who already have capital, not the ones who dream of one day having it.
Republicans, please explain to me?
I am a Republican, however, I somewhat disagree with your claims I do not support mass job outsourcing. I am proud of products that are made in America, and use them often. (Manhole covers for example) I am against universal health care, because I am a firefighter. If it were free to go to the hospital, for any reason, our call loads would quadruple, and our hospitals overfilled. Let alone the huge cost of it all. I vote for giving the military more money for medical care. We need to take care of those guys. What the hell is wrong with giving an incentive to being successful? Is getting ahead in life a crime? Why should we punish them? I support our efforts in Iraq. We are helping so much over there; building schools, infrastructure, and helping them secure their country. What is so bad about that? And so what if the rich are getting richer, isn't that the way our system works? Everybody though Iraq had WMDs. Republicans, Democrats, the UK, Poland, Australia, all of the countries that came and helped us. Sorry, the man's got a lot of crap on his plate. You never heard anything from FDR about the environment when he built the Grand Coolee Dam either. I have a problem with any infringement on the Constitution. Liberals have no problem telling me what kind of displays I can have in my yard for Christmas either. Is that not free speach as well? Ivy league alumni are reputably liberal because their professors are. After 4 years of exposure, it takes a strong willed mind to not conform.
Why do Republicans and cons think that the really wealthy work hard for their money?
You are very confused as to economic stats among republicans and democrats. That isn't your fault, it a big lie pushed in the media and entertainment industry, but the very rich democrat elite who own most of the media and entertainment industry. Most of those super rich are democrats, some of them worked very hard, but most of the extremely rich are heirs of old money, nearly all of those are democrats. Most of the very poor have made bad choices. Most of those who've done very well have put more effort in, often physical effort, but more often than that the kind of mental effort that goes far beyond what a 9-5 job requires. Most of those who've come up from nothing in business have worked much harder than the average joe. Many have been working 12 to 20 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week for a very long time before things work out, and sometimes even that wasn't enough and they fail, and many who are well off have failed and gotten back up and tried again and again. You don't see those who are satisfied with a 9-5 working like that, and you don't see that many who are not interested in putting much more into it making it to the top 2% either. Some work very hard and have failed so far, and are poor right now. You won't see those guys whining about the rich and voting for those who engage in class warfare because they aspire to win at life and don't like others holding them down by applying onerous taxation against those who get ahead by putting in so much more effort than average.
My whole family is democratic, but I'm republican what do I do?
You cannot get your family to change their silly views but you can change your own for the better and become libertarian.
A conservative friend of mine once said that Republicans want you to make money, while Democrats don't. What are some arguments for and against this, using examples of Republican-backed legislation and Democrat-backed legislation?
I'd say it depends on who the "you" is. Conservatives/Republicans are about returning to the past, preferably a past of the wealthy aristocracy ruling over the serfs. In modern parlance this would be the oligarchs and plutocrats being lords over the workers. If you're in that 1% (actually less but it's a convenient number) then yes, the Republicans do want you to make money. If you are in the 99% they don't. The Liberals/Democrats feel otherwise.This is why the Conservatives/Republicans are for:Tax cuts for the wealthy. Preferably zero taxes.Zero estate taxes (which they tend to call "death taxes".)Zero Capital Gains taxes.Zero regulations, particularly concerning the environment and worker rights and safety.Zero regulations on Wall Street and financial institutions.No minimum wage."Corporations are people.""Money is free speech."Unlimited campaign contributions.Zero welfare. (They hope to get there someday.)No health insurance (get sick or injured? Too bad! Bankruptcy for you!)Closing factories in America and opening them in poor countries with few laws.Unlimited CEO and Executive pay, bonuses, stocks.No public schools.No public radio or TV.No National Education Administration or Securities and Exchange Commission.More fear of foreigners and more war.Privatize everything. All services, roads, parks.Meanwhile, Democrats/Liberals are against all of that and want higher minimum wage, more regulations, more worker rights etc. Some want single-payer health care and government subsidized college education.Just look at how much Conservatives/Republicans love Ayn Rand who lionizes the 1% while calling the 99% "moochers", "takers", evil scum who hate liberty, etc. etc. Just look at how the Conservatives talk and write about society. Do you think any of them give a damn about the common man? Of course not. Only the plutocrats matter to them.
Why do Republicans say "People need to stop expecting handouts and work hard" when?
Unemployment means people WANT to work but can't find it. And how is a person supposed to better themselves through education if all their money from their minimum wage job barely covers rent, food, and car? I would really like to hear Republican's take on this.