Preferences under pressure

Financial Strain and Support for Progressive Taxation

Bibliographic Data

ID5339201
AuthorsAlexander Trubowitz (0000-0002-5158-7230, Nuffield College, University of Oxford , Oxford, OX1 1NF,), Sam Zacher (0000-0001-6208-3970, University of Southern California)
Year2025
Volume24
Issue2
Pages951-973
Publication date2025-10-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocio-Economic Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1475-1461 • E-ISSN: 1475-147X
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ser/mwaf067
OpenAlexW4414977013
LanguageEN
References cited53

Americans have not responded to rising income inequality by demanding higher taxes on top incomes. Does this mean that ideological beliefs trump material conditions for explaining voters' views on taxing the rich? We argue that it does not. Though Americans may be insensitive to rising inequality as long as their own finances are stable, we propose that the experience of financial strain changes individuals' views about inequality and makes them more supportive of progressive tax hikes. Using panel survey evidence, we show that financial strain in the form of income loss leads to greater support for raising taxes on high incomes. This is true among both Republicans and Democrats. Financial strain appears to shift respondents' tax preferences by inducing discontent and anger about economic inequality. This suggests that voters' beliefs about the fairness of market outcomes are endogenous to changes in their material circumstances

Economic inequality · Ideology · Income distribution · Income tax · Inequality · Panel data · Progressive tax · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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