From my working class background, I think there's a sense that people receiving assistance are gaming the system and thus taking from the working class. They feel very threatened by immigration (Hispanic) and distrust Democrats for being more open to accepting immigrants. And the gun issue is very, very real.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a great question and has perplexed me forever. Why would anyone who is middle class or poor and in danger of losing a job or health care vote for the Trump. A rich guy who has gotten there on the backs of these very people, who will never think about them and only themselves. It is like they believe if they just get a guy in office that looks like them they will be just fine. Someone explain how people consistently vote against their own pay checks and families. Is it fear? Is it hatred? Who does this?

It’s quite simple, really.
Many of us in the middle class realize that the more “power” we give to the government in taking care of us, the more freedoms we lose as a result.
Like the ACA - we essentially handed over the power to the government to mandate health insurance for all, and in turn, gave up our freedom to choose what plan suits us and our families. Don’t need birth control? Too bad, you’ve got it. And, you don’t have young kids who need dental coverage? So sorry, pal, you get it anyway.
So, simply put, we value freedom more than we value “free things.”

Just curious -- what health insurance *doesn't* provide coverage for things you don't need?

I find most critics of the ACA are actually criticizing all insurance -- they just don't seem to understand how insurance works.

Also why we need a single-payer system.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should just ask.........

“Wouldn’t you want the government to take better care of you so you don’t have to worry about taking care of yourself?"

I don't want a big gov't, especially one that tells me how to parent. But, healthcare is a completely different ballgame. When we have a system where people's lives can be decimated, financially and/or mortally, due to lack of quality healthcare, that's not the gov't taking care of you. That's a system that leaves the weakest of us behind. I say this as someone who is self-employed, makes six figures, some years pay $100K in taxes, and had a hard time getting private insurance pre-ACA.

Healthcare comes with good jobs. That is what underemployed or the unemployed really want. That is what Trump is promising to remedy, just like when America was Great. The message has a lot of traction in the Rust Belt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should just ask.........

“Wouldn’t you want the government to take better care of you so you don’t have to worry about taking care of yourself?"

+1. Indeed. Wouldn't you want to not be a republican so you're not putting in power the wealthy business owners who profit from your apparent ignorance and blind allegiance? Wouldn't you want to be a socialist? I'm not from the US and I have to give the GOP a slow clap every time I think of what they've pulled off in the last 35 years.

Donald Trump is a wealthy business owner who has created tens of thousands of jobs. When he profits, so do the people who work for him. In a capitalist society, you can't hate companies but want jobs.

Blue collar workers for the most part do not want handouts, they want jobs. That is why they buy into Trump's message. They do not view themselves as poor, but rather displaced due to bad trade deals and unfair global competition. Many, believe it or not, have the old fashion view that government handouts are charity and it embarrasses them. They want good jobs. Hillary has never created one, other than for attorneys representing her.

Anonymous wrote:You should just ask.........

“Wouldn’t you want the government to take better care of you so you don’t have to worry about taking care of yourself?"

I don't want a big gov't, especially one that tells me how to parent. But, healthcare is a completely different ballgame. When we have a system where people's lives can be decimated, financially and/or mortally, due to lack of quality healthcare, that's not the gov't taking care of you. That's a system that leaves the weakest of us behind. I say this as someone who is self-employed, makes six figures, some years pay $100K in taxes, and had a hard time getting private insurance pre-ACA.

Anonymous wrote:This is a great question and has perplexed me forever. Why would anyone who is middle class or poor and in danger of losing a job or health care vote for the Trump. A rich guy who has gotten there on the backs of these very people, who will never think about them and only themselves. It is like they believe if they just get a guy in office that looks like them they will be just fine. Someone explain how people consistently vote against their own pay checks and families. Is it fear? Is it hatred? Who does this?

It’s quite simple, really.
Many of us in the middle class realize that the more “power” we give to the government in taking care of us, the more freedoms we lose as a result.
Like the ACA - we essentially handed over the power to the government to mandate health insurance for all, and in turn, gave up our freedom to choose what plan suits us and our families. Don’t need birth control? Too bad, you’ve got it. And, you don’t have young kids who need dental coverage? So sorry, pal, you get it anyway.
So, simply put, we value freedom more than we value “free things.”

Anonymous wrote:This is a great question and has perplexed me forever. Why would anyone who is middle class or poor and in danger of losing a job or health care vote for the Trump. A rich guy who has gotten there on the backs of these very people, who will never think about them and only themselves. It is like they believe if they just get a guy in office that looks like them they will be just fine. Someone explain how people consistently vote against their own pay checks and families. Is it fear? Is it hatred? Who does this?

Don't discount the influence of racial resentment. Trump's willingness to exploit this has taken him far.

This is a great question and has perplexed me forever. Why would anyone who is middle class or poor and in danger of losing a job or health care vote for the Trump. A rich guy who has gotten there on the backs of these very people, who will never think about them and only themselves. It is like they believe if they just get a guy in office that looks like them they will be just fine. Someone explain how people consistently vote against their own pay checks and families. Is it fear? Is it hatred? Who does this?

Anonymous wrote:You should just ask.........

“Wouldn’t you want the government to take better care of you so you don’t have to worry about taking care of yourself?"

+1. Indeed. Wouldn't you want to not be a republican so you're not putting in power the wealthy business owners who profit from your apparent ignorance and blind allegiance? Wouldn't you want to be a socialist? I'm not from the US and I have to give the GOP a slow clap every time I think of what they've pulled off in the last 35 years.

Anonymous wrote:Globalization is a natural extension of capitalism. The only way to rein it in is through government control. Guess who doesn't want government control?

Then please explain the Clinton Team trade agreement making.

Globalization is a natural extension of capitalism. The only way to rein it in is through government control. Guess who doesn't want government control?

I don't think working class people make the connections between Obama's policies that help the working class with their own lives. They're too abstract, and involve a lot of policy wonky things that regular people don't have time to figure out. They're not dumb, they just don't have time or interest in policy.

They DO, however, see how globalization has decimated their communities. Donald Trump has promised to fix this issue. Have you ever noticed how Obama doesn't make those kinds of promises? That's because he knows he couldn't possibly keep them. And people have deduced that both parties are too beholden to special interests to fix problems.

We all just want to work, and have a decent quality of life. America's politics have failed too many people.

You should just ask.........

“Wouldn’t you want the government to take better care of you so you don’t have to worry about taking care of yourself?"

and wouldn't you want a President who pays his fair share of taxes, and who will be transparent with his own taxes? Not someone who gleefully uses loopholes that only benefit the wealthy.

"Trump has defended his use of public tax assistance to boost private projects. He said opponents of such government supports, including some conservatives, are out of touch with reality."

Sounds to me like he would want more tax deductions for the wealthy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-income-tax-returns-once-became-public-they-showed-he-didnt-pay-a-cent/2016/05/20/ffa2f63c-1b7c-11e6-b6e0-c53b7ef63b45_story.html

Explain this to me: If you are being left behind by globalization and not doing well financial, wouldn't you want an expansion of overtime pay? Wouldn't you want the Affordable Care Act in case you lose your job or don't have benefits at your job? Wouldn't you support the initiative to make college affordable so that your children will not experience what you did? Wouldn't you want the tax code to ask more of the rich so that you, the poor, can enjoy greater benefits? Why are the "poor, white working class" folks supporting politicians (like Trump) who publicly spouse policies that will not benefit you?