The Political Meme Absolutely Everyone Loves Because It Backs Up Whatever You Want To Believe
<p>You’ve seen many versions of the meme: It shows a stereotypically ’50s-looking family and claims one breadwinner (Dad, of course) could comfortably support the whole family, providing a nice house, a decent car, a vacation every year and college for the kids.</p>
<p>It’s not strictly true, of course, but it turns out that almost everyone fervently believes this or wants to believe it — no matter where they are on the political spectrum.</p>
<p>This one simple meme supports whatever you want to support. It has a meaning for everyone!</p>
<h2>Anti-taxers without a clue:</h2>
<p>Well, that’s because they weren’t taxed so much back then. (<a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nocera-tax-avoidance-20190129-story.html#:~:text=According%20to%20records%20compiled%20by,in%20the%2091%25%20tax%20bracket." rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">In the late 1950s the top marginal tax rate was about 91 percent</a> according to the <em>LA Times</em>.)</p>
<h2>People who hate foreigners:</h2>
<p>In my day, we didn’t send all our money to foreign countries! (We don’t now, either. <a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/which-countries-receive-the-most-aid-from-the-us/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">In 2021, we spent 0.01 percent of the federal budget on foreign aid,</a> according to USAFacts.)</p>
<h2><strong>People who bought their house 40 years ago:</strong></h2>
<p>Those 1950s houses were small. If you bought a smaller and simpler house, you could live on one salary. (Maybe, but builders tend to construct larger houses, making it harder to find a small one. Tiny houses aren’t the answer either — they <a href="https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/how-much-does-a-tiny-house-cost" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">cost more per square foot </a>than a traditional house.)</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/minds-without-borders/the-political-meme-absolutely-everyone-loves-because-it-backs-up-whatever-you-want-to-believe-20526b48d7d4"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>