Why do people vote against their own interests?

[majortom-thecat.livejournal.com]

I was reading this blog post about how a Gallup poll found that Americans seem to prioritize the abolition of the estate tax over unemployment benefits.  The author breaks it down like this:

Right now there are 14.2 million Americans looking for work and less than 3 million total job openings. So we've got more than 10 million people for whom there are no jobs -- for whom there exist no jobs. The unemployment rate is 9.6 percent....

The estate tax affects 0.24 percent of American estates.

There is a pretty good chance, at any time, that any given American might suddenly find himself or herself among that 9.6 percent without a job.

There is almost no chance, at any time, than any given American not already belonging to the privileged classes with estates large enough to owe estate taxes will ever even get close to joining that 0.24 percent.

And yet, according to Gallup, the abolition of the estate tax is widely viewed as a higher priority than the survival of more than 10 million people for whom jobs do not exist.
 

Estate tax vs. unemployment benefits is not the topic that I want to discuss.  It's fine if you do, but just so you know, you'll be off-topic. :)

( Here's what it got me thinking about )

Amazon & WikiLeaks

[wbm.livejournal.com]

Caring for books is an honour. Amazon was tested... & failed.

Government - the ones like ours that are orchestrating the coming Orwellian fantasy - like to respond to critics of surveillance by saying citizens shouldn't be afraid if they have nothing to hide.

Now we have revelations that government officials - people who should know better, if only that they are of an age, rather than a career, that should have taught certain lessons - are filling official reports with personal biases.

And who does government want to stop? Not the writers of these shameful missives, but the press. When our mass media showed its new intent by letting the Bush Administration do their business without any tough questions, they proved they weren't up to the task.

WikiLeaks is the new, daring press.

And HOW DARE a bookseller give in to political pressure regarding information flow. WikiLeaks isn't reviled because it's lying.

I have many other ways to get my books & can easily (& will) boycott Amazon. I'm currently researching alternatives to PayPal (I'd love a Google Checkout account, but isn't available for sellers in Canada yet).