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[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

You are not a hero. You have convinced yourself that any possibility of short term gains outweighs the long term harms created by a government that wants to destroy government and deprive people of any kind of assistance (including the safety nets currently in place). After convincing yourself of this, you pat yourself on the back for not voting for an outright racist, mental midget, lunatic narcissist.

Everyone you have met, including me, who casts a vote with a mix of their own and our collective interest in mind has made a determination that a government that actually cares for its citizens (and isn't just a police force to protect the person and property rights of the rich) trumps a tax cut because such a vote is a better long-term investment, makes for a more powerful and healthy (figuratively and literally) country, and is an investment in the future of this country in an actual patriotic way.

TM

I guess I don't understand people who vote out of immediate economic self-interest. If you were going to think that way, you wouldn't bother voting, since the time it takes almost certainly outweighs the chance that your vote will make a difference on the margin. Voting is inherently expressive, a way to take a position about what you care about, and most people care about something beyond that which will enrich them a little more in the short run.