Monday, November 19, 2012

Why the Republicans Will Say To Hell With the Top 2%

This information is a bit dated but definitely in the ballpark.
From Digital Journal:
Who Do The Rich Vote For?
Much has been written on Digital Journal about wealthy Americans only voting for the Republicans. I realize that this perception has been bandied about in the media for decades. But is it really true? In the blog “Election 2008: what really happened”, the author states: “As with previous Republican candidates, McCain did better among the rich than the poor.” He includes some charts that support his contention. The first chart shows that Republican vote share is very low with individuals in the lowest income groups. The Republican vote share increases dramatically as income as income rises. The Republican vote share peaked in the 60 to 70 thousand dollar range and then declined gradually to the 90 thousand dollar range before climbing again to 150 thousand dollars. The second chart indicates that the Republican vote share peaked again between 125 and 150 thousand dollars. After that it declined gradually as income continued to rise. What I found particularly interesting was that the only time the Republican vote share in exceeded 50% was in relatively narrow ranges around the peaks. In 2008 the Republican vote share never exceeded 55% in any income class. The Republican vote share at the highest income level was around 47 to 48%. A quick review of the figures presented on the Center for Responsive Politics also indicates that the perception that the wealthy prefer Republicans is not accurate for the 2009-2010 period. In their analysis they looked at donors giving more than $200 to a candidate or Political Action Committee. I believe it is reasonable to assume the wealthy were the most likely individuals to donate $200 to any candidate. Donors giving more than $200 only to candidates gave Democrats approximately 28.3 million dollars more than they gave Republicans. The Democrats received about 6.4% than Republicans. Another interesting tidbit is the percentage of individuals donating to Democrats was higher than it was for Republicans. When donations to Political Action Committees (PAC) are include the numbers change significantly. For instance, the percentage Democrats received dropped 9%. The result indicates Democrats received more donations, but only slightly. It must be noted that the difference in donations I mentioned may not be statistically significant. What does this tell us? In all honesty it tells us nothing. It does indicate that the following assumptions may have some value. However, the assumptions, like the charts are gross over simplifications of a complex topic. 1. Educated people were more likely to vote Republican than uneducated people, assuming that the level of education influences the amount of income one earns then the Republican vote share is greater among educated people than among uneducated people.

Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/blog/11134#ixzz2CgE3EdVm
 In the blog “Election 2008: what really happened”, the author states: “As with previous Republican candidates, McCain did better among the rich than the poor.” He includes some charts that support his contention. The first chart shows that Republican vote share is very low with individuals in the lowest income groups. The Republican vote share increases dramatically as income rises.

The Republican vote share peaked in the 60 to 70 thousand dollar range and then declined gradually to the 90 thousand dollar range before climbing again to 150 thousand dollars. The second chart indicates that the Republican vote share peaked again between 125 and 150 thousand dollars. After that it declined gradually as income continued to rise....
...MORE

HT: Chicago Boyz