To the editor:

In the midst of this very slow recovery of our economic system, there seems to be a specific mystery that the Republican Party has created which is causing a great share of this country’s “middle class” to vote against its own self-interest. That mystery is: “Why are the voters allowing the 2 percent of this country’s wealthiest people to influence them in allowing the rich to pay taxes at the lowest rate since income taxes have been collected in this country?”

Since the taxation rate for the wealthiest Americans were above 90 percent of their top dollars during World War II, they have edged downward to where the top marginal tax rate was 77 percent in 1964, 50 percent in 1982, 33 percent in 1988, and, in 1992, the top rate was lowered to 31 percent under President George H.W. Bush. Finally, through Bush’s administration, the highest rate was adjusted to 35 percent. This rate is scheduled to return to the Clinton tax rate of 39.6 percent in 2011.

The 2 percent of our population is obviously controlling the political climate of our country. A great step in that direction was created when the Supreme Court allowed corporations and foreign companies to make unlimited contributions to political campaigns.

My question is: “Why are so many of the middle and lower class voting for the objectives of the richest 2 percent? That is the mystery.

Richard M Hassur,

Lawrence