When Your Neighbor is a Trump Supporter

I have nothing but respect for all of my friends and family who are proud Republican Americans,
but I cannot hide my visible disgust that Donald Trump was elected as the 45th President of my
United States. As the fallout of this election continues, everyone is focused on the one demographic
that we knew would support Trump: the poor white male, but we also need to talk about the other
Trump demographic: the wealthy white male.
If you come across a wealthy Caucasian American Trump voter and find yourself asking why
though? they will probably tell you something along the lines of I know hes not great and I
dont agree with his social views, but I am fiscally conservative and that is what matters most to
me. Everyone has the one platform that can make or break a candidate for them, that topic that
you feel so strongly about that as long as a candidate shares your views on that one thing, their
heuristics around other issues are almost inconsequential. Considering that money runs our lives,
a desire to maximize your personal wealth seems like an understandable deciding platform for this
demographic.
As someone who loves data and believes in examining history and performing proper due
diligence, I feel very strongly that if the wealthy republicans, who define themselves as fiscally
conservative, had taken the time to review past trends and really assess the merits of each
candidates economic platforms we would be in a different position.
Lets breakdown what exactly it means to be fiscally conservative. Those who identify with this
philosophy generally believe in lower taxes, reduced public spending, and lower public debt.
Based on the way our national economy works, we can assume that lower taxes and reduced public
spending go hand in hand, since public spending is funded by the taxes we pay. This philosophy
resonates so strongly with the upper class simply because increased tax rates for higher tax brackets
will hit them harder.
Hilary wanted to raise taxes for the top 1% of the electorate, which encompasses households
making over $730,000. This would require the wealthiest Americans to pay thousands more in
taxes each year. She also wanted to raise the capital gains tax, which would increase the tax on
income received from investments held for over a year. This is concerning to the wealthiest portion
of Americans because they have been able to put their excess capital in investments and reduce
their tax burden through capital gains for years. Lower and middle class Americans would not be
as drastically effected by an increase in the capital gains tax because, well, they dont have much
extra income to invest. Although I could spend 10 pages discussing the finer points of her plan it
clear from these two items alone that top 1% of Americans would, without a doubt, take a financial
hit under Hilarys tax plan.
Everything described above fuels the individualistic view of fiscal policy. Mr. Millionaire
Business Owner looks at his personal balance sheet and sees a lower bottom line under a
democratic regime then a republican one. He sees lower returns on his hard work and astute
investments and less money to leave his children in the future. He sees this all, but then stops
looking any farther. He is having a natural and quintessential American reaction: if it hurts me,
and me alone, it is not good. Although this train of thought is the archetype for most Americans, I

feel that if these republicans challenged themselves to look further they would see that with a more
collective approach to national wealth they could have the financial success and social reform that
currently dont believe can occur simultaneously.
When one stops and looks at the effect of Democratic fiscal policy on the national as a whole it is
eminently clear that GDP, productivity, and utilization all increase under Democratic regimes. The
data around this correlation is voluminous and far reaching, but I want to suggest a simplified
reason behind this relationship. Increased public spending means more benefits and opportunities
for the lower/middle class which equates to better jobs for lower/middle class Americans
which results in more money in their pockets to buy goods and boost the economy.
This means that if Mr. Millionaire Business Owner could trust the system and give the economy
time to react, the money lost from higher taxes would soon be recouped through the increased sales
and increased returns that accompany a strong economy. While, this is a terribly simplified
description of the functions of the American economy, it is mean to draw the point that those
wealthy Americans who say they regret having to support Trump and his conservative social views
in exchange for financial security do have another choice.
They may respond, with the argument that liberal fiscal policy increases the public debt and does
not provide a promise that they will ever recognize the increased income associated with a higher
GDP. To that I say that this is when it becomes a question of character. Is this a financial chance
you would take if it meant our country would have a better shot at achieve some of the progressive
social milestones, such as marriage equality, safe an affordable health services for women,
rehabilitation resources for men and women of the armed forces, stronger background checks on
the sale of firearms, more college opportunities for at risk youth, and greater protections for
minorities as a whole?
I have not gone into more of the research and data that supports my argument, because this is not
intended to be an academic paper. I am not writing this with the hope that someone will read this
and change their political ideology. I am writing this with the hope that all of the educated,
powerful, and inspirational Republican Americans do more due diligence next time before blindly
voting Republican just because theyre fiscally conservative.