From @spqr_sculla on X:
Voters want to maximize their own utility by maximizing profit and minimizing costs. They want to feel like good people and they want others to know they are good people, but can't imagine 2nd and 3rd order effects.
Money printing is the solution to an electorate that wants neither higher taxes nor lower spending. They want tax cuts for themselves, but no welfare cuts for what they use (eg. Social Security). Welfare should be cut for everyone except themselves and people they know.
Austerity is evil but so is inflation. Workers are owed high wages, great benefits, and protections for all sorts of things, but also it should be easier to get rid of bad employees.
The economy should be growing at 4% annually, but don't you dare build anything near me or make any noise. I want my neighborhood to stay exactly the same -- forever
Schools should be cheap and high quality, and teachers should be fantastic. They should get rid of al the problem kids, but also they need a 12 step due process for my kid.
We should cut red tape, but also we need to make sure that every new law and business takes into account all stakeholders and minimizes harm and disruption.
Everyone who makes more money than me is a lying snake who got wealthy via cheating and corruption, and everyone who makes less than me is lazy and stupid and therefore doesn't deserve welfare.
Voters hate the images of migrant caravans on the border but they also hate the images of ICE arresting immigrants. They just don't like "scary" images.
They're scared of crime and dysfunction, but promptly forget about it when it's no longer happening.
Trump broke the blue wall in 2016 by promising to bring the jobs back, which costs nothing, but was punished by voters for actually trying to bring them back, which raised prices.
Voters in 2024 repudiated the Left because of inflation. They did the same to the Right in 2026.
If something bad happens, its always the fault of the people in charge, and we should reflexing throw them out.
We need to combat climate change, but also I will personally lead the Revolution if gas prices go above $4 a gallon.
Healthcare should be free, high-quality, and on-demand.
Abortions are wrong except when it affects me, at which point its my human right.