(Photo credit: Flickr user soukup)
Reuters/Ipsos just released a new poll that looks at the attitudes of southern white voters. The results were in some way unsurprising. 69 percent of working class and middle-class southern whites oppose the Affordable Care Act, for example.
But check this result out. Among poor and middle class southern whites, the group “agreed by more than 4 to 1 with the statement: ‘The wealthiest Americans should pay higher taxes.'”
America’s a progressive nation, sometimes it just doesn’t know it. (Hat tip to The Nation’s George Zornick for locating the poll.)
The rich should pay more in taxes bottom line!!! Also, where are Romney’s & Ryan’s income tax returns!!!!
Actually, I am not surprised by this poll’s findings. One, regarding Obama’s healthcare plan, many Southerners have simply bought the Republican spiel about it and others object to “mandated” insurance because they know they will not be able to afford it outside of a one-payer plan.
Regarding the attitude towards the rich paying more taxes, that’s just common sense. Millionaires and billionaires pay pittances compared with the tax burdens on everyone else. Of course, they should pay more: 50% on all their PROFITS and 10% on ALL their income. Oh, I am Southern and “pass for White.” (I am in reality an American mutt, a racial mix.)
You want to punish successful people. Instead of complaining about these people and taxes, why don’t you people do something to better yourselves? Like go to school, open a business, learn a trade, dream bigger, stop drinking, etc. You are responsible for your own lives. Why should an individual who has gained a degree of success by his own sweat, blood, and tears pay for those who are lazy, Survival of the fittest baby. I am tired of the whiners.
Daley, There is no punishment punishment involved for the rich to pay their fair share. In the 50’s and 60’s our country built the entire interstate system; now there’s no money to repair it. Taxes on the rich reached 90% back then. There have been successive tax cuts bringing the top rate down to the 30% range and multiply loopholes so that people like Romney are paying only 13%. It isn’t punishment for them to pay a few percent more. If they had a shed of decency they would be encouraging a tax hike. It isn’t punishment to repair our roads or invest in research. As a former small business owner, I can tell you that people only open businesses when they perceive demand for their product or services. Rich people don’t need a tax cut to spur them to open business; poor working people need more money to buy things in order to spur demand.
If I make $130,000, dammit, I’m keeping most of it! I earned it. Let the scum in this world improve their lives and pitch in with the costs. I not happy about supporting losers.