Money Turns Left-Wingers Into Stingy Right-Wingers

RNG · February 12th, 2014, 10:36 AM

The author obviously has quite the bias, but the data is IMO both interesting and not surprising. But the threshold at which it happened surprised me.

Quote:

Confession time: I'm one of those left-wingers Tom Perkins warned you about, constantly kristallnachting the rich. But if I strike it rich tomorrow? I'll probably join the 1 percent and start kristallnachting the poor instead.

How do I know this? Science: The richer people are, the more they tend to vote for right-wing politicians and oppose wealth-sharing policies like social welfare and tax hikes for the rich, according to a study of thousands of U.K. lottery winners by Nattavudh Powdthavee of the London School of Economics and Andrew J. Oswald of the University of Warwick.

"Money apparently makes people more right-wing," wrote the authors.

The more money people win in the lottery, the more right-wing they become, according to the study. That includes many people who previously voted for left-wing politicians. (See the chart below for evidence of this.) And the more they win, the more likely they are to believe that "ordinary people 'already get a fair share of society's wealth.

The chart shows that nearly 18 percent of people who won 500 pounds or more in the U.K. lottery switched from left-wingers (or non-wingers) into right-wingers after winning.

Many right-wingers will try to convince you their beliefs are based on a sober moral calculus that has nothing to do with base selfishness (unless they're big Ayn Rand fans, that is). They claim to have genuine concern for the poor, but think any sort of wealth redistribution is a terrible affront to justice or the Founding Fathers or Ayn Rand's ghost or whatever.

Many conservatives really are being honest about that -- after all, not all right-wingers are wealthy. And not all wealthy people are right-wingers.

But the lottery-winner study suggests that, for at least some people, beliefs in such conservative policies as tax cuts for the rich and benefit cuts for the poor are probably based mainly on the morality of "I've got mine, sucker."

"In the voting booth, monetary self-interest casts a long shadow, despite people's protestations that there are intellectual reasons for voting for low tax rates," Oswald told Phys.org.

The study confirms a string of other studies showing that right-wing tendencies and a lack of empathy about the poor are correlated with wealth and power. But those studies didn't exactly address the question of whether wealth caused people to change their attitudes about the poor. The lottery-winner study is one of the first to do so. It suggests that money really does change people.

Study Confirms Money Turns Left-Wingers Into Stingy Right-Wingers

Engineer · February 12th, 2014, 10:54 AM

I think it probably works more like,

"Wait... I have money? Holy shit... Wait, who was I trying to take money from when I was poor? People like me? But... But that's MY money now..."
They realize they were actually for stealing from people that are now them via foodstamps and all the other shit we pay for with taxes.

Tony · February 12th, 2014, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engineer

I think it probably works more like,

"Wait... I have money? Holy shit... Wait, who was I trying to take money from when I was poor? People like me? But... But that's MY money now..."
They realize they were actually for stealing from people that are now them via foodstamps and all the other shit we pay for with taxes.

Good view, Engi-San. Good paying, rewarding jobs are an anathema to the Democrats.

TNVolunteer73 · February 12th, 2014, 06:19 PM

Wow the most conservative states in the US are the most GIVING states in the US.

Leading the Pack is Mississippi the most generous people in the nation.

TN (the Volunteer State) comes in at Number 6.

TNVolunteer73 · February 12th, 2014, 06:23 PM

Strange, why are southerns so giving when it comes to charities.

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2012/0...ntire-country/

Jimmyb · February 12th, 2014, 06:24 PM

Am I reading this correctly: 500 pounds can will cause one to change political affiliations?

TNVolunteer73 · February 12th, 2014, 06:30 PM

It is nothing new even when you go back to the days of Clinton almost 2 decades

TNVolunteer73 · February 12th, 2014, 06:31 PM

Question is there a way to adjust the size of images so they will fit neatly into the thread???

some images are too large once they are posted, they are not that large when viewed prior to posting.

Jimmyb · February 12th, 2014, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNVolunteer73

Question is there a way to adjust the size of images so they will fit neatly into the thread???

some images are too large.

What are you using? Imageshack?

TNVolunteer73 · February 12th, 2014, 06:36 PM

Lottery winners don't give much, because they gave so little to get it.

People that have worked their way up, remember where they came from and remember the struggle.

February 12th, 2014, 10:54 AM	#2
Engineer Smarter than you Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Midwest Posts: 1,150	I think it probably works more like, "Wait... I have money? Holy shit... Wait, who was I trying to take money from when I was poor? People like me? But... But that's MY money now..." They realize they were actually for stealing from people that are now them via foodstamps and all the other shit we pay for with taxes. Thanks from webguy4 and Tony

February 12th, 2014, 06:19 PM	#4
TNVolunteer73 I'm debt free Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Lebanon, TN Posts: 35,546	Wow the most conservative states in the US are the most GIVING states in the US. Leading the Pack is Mississippi the most generous people in the nation. TN (the Volunteer State) comes in at Number 6. Thanks from webguy4

February 12th, 2014, 06:23 PM	#5
TNVolunteer73 I'm debt free Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Lebanon, TN Posts: 35,546	Strange, why are southerns so giving when it comes to charities. http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2012/0...ntire-country/ Last edited by TNVolunteer73; February 12th, 2014 at 06:25 PM.

February 12th, 2014, 06:31 PM	#8
TNVolunteer73 I'm debt free Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Lebanon, TN Posts: 35,546	Question is there a way to adjust the size of images so they will fit neatly into the thread??? some images are too large once they are posted, they are not that large when viewed prior to posting. Last edited by TNVolunteer73; February 12th, 2014 at 06:35 PM.

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February 12th, 2014, 06:24 PM	#6
Jimmyb Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Earth Posts: 38,895	Am I reading this correctly: 500 pounds can will cause one to change political affiliations?

February 12th, 2014, 06:30 PM	#7
TNVolunteer73 I'm debt free Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Lebanon, TN Posts: 35,546	It is nothing new even when you go back to the days of Clinton almost 2 decades

February 12th, 2014, 06:36 PM	#10
TNVolunteer73 I'm debt free Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Lebanon, TN Posts: 35,546	Lottery winners don't give much, because they gave so little to get it. People that have worked their way up, remember where they came from and remember the struggle.

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