Young Britons want socialism, without paying for it...
Discussion
Fascinating investigation which finds older voters are happier to have tax increases, while younger voters (who seem to prefer the left) want spending cuts.
I think there would be some disappointed voters if we had a left wing government and spending cuts...
(lifted from Guido: https://order-order.com/2021/07/06/reports-show-yo... )
I think there would be some disappointed voters if we had a left wing government and spending cuts...
(lifted from Guido: https://order-order.com/2021/07/06/reports-show-yo... )
louiebaby said:
There is nothing in that visual, or the Guido article linked, that shows that younger voters prefer Labour.
The linked article doesn't exactly read as unbiased on the political spectrum either.
In the main they do. The shift to Conservative voting happens as age increases as the realities of working and paying tax all your life hit home.The linked article doesn't exactly read as unbiased on the political spectrum either.
98elise said:
In the main they do. The shift to Conservative voting happens as age increases as the realities of working and paying tax all your life hit home.
I don't deny that. However, the title of the thread and the linked article clearly state the link between the age of voters, voting preference and financial method for dealing with the deficit.Within the article there is no visualisation or data that directly addresses the link between voting age and voting preference. This is poor.
There also doesn't seem to be any discussion about the relationship between voting preference and financial method for dealing with the deficit, yet there is a visual for this. This is also poor, this should either not be there, or should add something to the discussion.
- obviously such subversion must be banned 
louiebaby said:
There is nothing in that visual, or the Guido article linked, that shows that younger voters prefer Labour.
The linked article doesn't exactly read as unbiased on the political spectrum either.
Quite. Plus, given that the conservative position was to borrow record amounts to pay for infrastructure projects, I'm not sure theres an economic difference between the two.The linked article doesn't exactly read as unbiased on the political spectrum either.
markcoznottz said:
biggbn said:
98elise said:
In the main they do. The shift to Conservative voting happens as age increases as the realities of working and paying tax all your life hit home.
Happened in the opposite manner for me...Edited by biggbn on Tuesday 6th July 13:07
It would appear that the data used comes from this study, which doesn't seek to link age with voting behaviour, as per the first two parts of the title...
https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/third-of-b...
I'm not saying there is or isn't a link, or that the article is right or wrong. I'm saying it's a poor piece of journalism / analysis.
https://redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/third-of-b...
I'm not saying there is or isn't a link, or that the article is right or wrong. I'm saying it's a poor piece of journalism / analysis.
98elise said:
In the main they do. The shift to Conservative voting happens as age increases as the realities of working and paying tax all your life hit home.
The age range of voting habits is well known, the blue rinse and wrinkly stockings brigade, but the reason you attribute is glib guesswork. It might be why you changed, but there's no evidence to support that for the majority. There might be any number of causes. Going back a few years, it was received wisdom that it was a generational matter. University education broadened the mind and gave a more holistic view of the world. Others have suggested that many older people tend to be selfish; eg. I paid for this, it's mine. Others reckon that new is a concept that gets more frightening as you age.
I think it that there is a cutural edge. In my youth, 'things' were different to today and many of my age group, old 'uns, have a rose-tinted view of these 'things'. Facts that might have got in the way are as blurred as our eyesight without glasses.
From the pint of view of this old 'un, it doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, the rich will get richer at the expense of the majority. All we do, the 99% at the bottom, is fight over the crumbs. If you believe anything else, you should not be allowed the vote.
Too many assumptions in that link:
- Assuming that tax increases come from income. Most left policies are not advocating increased income taxation. But better recovery of corporate taxation and fairer taxation on non-earned income.
- Assuming that Government tax cuts should come from social spending. Again, most left policies are against major defence spending, major infrastructure spending (HS2, Nuclear, roads) and subsidies.
- Assuming that tax increases come from income. Most left policies are not advocating increased income taxation. But better recovery of corporate taxation and fairer taxation on non-earned income.
- Assuming that Government tax cuts should come from social spending. Again, most left policies are against major defence spending, major infrastructure spending (HS2, Nuclear, roads) and subsidies.
98elise said:
In the main they do. The shift to Conservative voting happens as age increases as the realities of working and paying tax all your life hit home.
The funny thing is, most people take out far more than they pay in - so far from the "realities of working and paying tax" what actually happens is people are persuaded to vote against their own best interests.Evanivitch said:
Too many assumptions in that link:
- Assuming that tax increases come from income. Most left policies are not advocating increased income taxation. But better recovery of corporate taxation and fairer taxation on non-earned income.
- Assuming that Government tax cuts should come from social spending. Again, most left policies are against major defence spending, major infrastructure spending (HS2, Nuclear, roads) and subsidies.
Weasel words. People worry the left will tax their wealth - that includes unearned income such as house value and other assets that they wish to pass on to their children without state intervention.- Assuming that tax increases come from income. Most left policies are not advocating increased income taxation. But better recovery of corporate taxation and fairer taxation on non-earned income.
- Assuming that Government tax cuts should come from social spending. Again, most left policies are against major defence spending, major infrastructure spending (HS2, Nuclear, roads) and subsidies.
Better recovery of corporate taxation - weasel words for "we'll increase taxes on businesses". Such taxes are ultimately a burden on people, so again, these are taxes on wealth, not some magic increase in efficiency of the economy.
Then we have "social spending" - yes, of course, headline things like the NHS... but the idea that infrastructure and energy generation can be magically underfunded without impacting society is nonsense. Most people actually want working infrastructure, decent transport, low energy prices so that they can live their lives.
All of the above is an attempt to invent an arbitrary distinction between "good" and "bad" taxation and spending, to hide the fact that both the left and the right are balancing social and economic choices and that most people (in general) want improved quality of life, greater wealth and social stability that either side can provide if their policies are well balanced.
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