So this is basically the same concept as r/NoDumbQuestions?
Here's my question. Why do so many poor and working-class folks in America support policies/candidates that only hurt them, not help them? I mean seriously, I don't know how non-rich people defend policies such as tax cuts for the rich, corrupt capitalism, a much smaller government, "pull yourself up by your bootstraps", and protest against raising the minimum wage and a universal healthcare system yet be supportive when the government spends trillions on the military or corporate bailouts. It's just mind-boggling. I try to be open-minded and see both sides but the GOP has done absolutely NOTHING to help poor and the working class, yet tens of millions of them love Trump like he's the second coming of Jesus. The cost of living (healthcare more than anything) is increasing at a higher rate than wages are and social services are being cut, due to the party's inaction. Is corporate propaganda like Fox so powerful that these people believe these obvious falsehoods without even considering why they do? Or why the progressives are wrong? Obviously, the biggest roadblock for the progressive movement in America is corrupt billionaires and multimillionaires who exploit people and don't pay their fair share, but poor and working-class people who vehemently defend them aren't helping.
I'm by no means rich, but I'm not exactly poor either since I'm fortunate enough to have a good-paying job. But I can shed some light on why I do support some of these policies (although I in no way support Trump or the GOP). Honestly, I want a smaller government because I think the government does a terrible job with everything. The bigger it gets, the more likely it will get involved in something and do a horrible job with it.
This is also why I do not want it involved in healthcare. Right now Medicaid and Medicare is a trainwreck that costs health systems time and money and is frankly not very good at treating people. If we expand it, it's just going to make hospitals operate less efficiently and bog the system down with treatments that aren't really needed because someone in the government says so. For example, if you hurt your knee you could go through an MRI, X-ray, injections, physical therapy, try numerous drugs, and probably try physical therapy again before they'll actually do surgery. All cases are different, but Medicaid and Medicare rules take away the ability for doctors to be doctors. Also, the charting they have to do is asinine with government-funded healthcare. When I was building documentation tools, the note templates of Medicaid and Medicare patients were at least double the length as a standard note because it needed to include a bunch of non-relevant BS.
As far as the minimum wage goes, raising it isn't going to help anyone. All employers will do is cut hours of employees or pass the cost increase onto the customer.
What I want is taxes to be cut drastically across the board and become a flat tax, say 10% of your income regardless of how much you make. That way everyone is paying the same share, from the poor to the ultra-rich. Or get rid of income tax altogether and solely rely on sales tax and property tax because that would tax the people who are using or consuming a given service. Regardless of how we get there though, I want people who work to keep as much of the money they earn as possible. People work hard for their money and they deserve to keep it. When I see 30% or more of my paycheck going to the government, it doesn't sit well with me.
As for why the working class and more specifically middle America supports Republicans? I think some of it has to do with religion, particularly the stance on abortion. Republicans are also more likely to shove Christian morals into the law. Another reason is guns and the second amendment. While I fully support the right to own a firearm, I'm not insane with it and I'm perfectly content with my hunting rifle, shotgun, and my pistol. I don't think I need anything more than a 9mm to defend my home and I don't think I'm trained properly to carry it in public. However, many people in middle America think otherwise and are convinced the liberals are coming to take their guns when in reality they can't. Trump has hurt gun rights more than Obama ever did, so I'm not sure why people keeping peddling that belief, but they do.
There's also the whole hero worship of police and the military. That's another reason middle America tends to support Republicans. Whether Republicans actually do any differently to support the military or law enforcement, I'm not sure, but they certainly sell it better than Democrats. So the people who worship the military and law enforcement eat it up and think by electing someone like Trump cops will somehow do a better job or something.
Finally, you have to look at the voting demographics. Younger people typically don't vote or simply can't vote due to work, school, whatever. Due to this, you have a predominantly older population voting who are typically more financially stable and have this fantasy idea that things are still like the 1950s. Yes, there are young Republicans and there are older Democrats, but I believe the trend is for older people to lean more conservative and for conservatives to tend to cater more to older people.
