We had an election not long ago where I live and I voted against my interests again. I’m an affluent homeowner but I voted for greater flexibility for new housing construction projects rather than be a fucking NIMBY and worry about my property value. I also voted down a sales tax because it’s regressive and hurts people poorer than me the most, even though I know the county will seek that money via property or business taxes next, which I will pay.

As I did all this I thought about how we lambaste Trumpers for voting against their own interests. I still haven’t thought the issue through enough but I understood at least that people are sometimes willing to vote for a principle which will come at a price for them personally. So we can’t just categorically dismiss this behavior as always dumb.

I did it to help other people and Trumpers tend to do it to hurt other people, so it’s very different, but still an interesting topic.