Voting Against Self-Interest

People do not always vote in their economic best interests.

You're thinking about it the wrong way. They vote for people who promise not to take even more from them.

Maybe the people don't agree with you about what's in their best interests. You may believe that getting money for yourself regardless of any other consideration is the "correct" way to vote, others may disagree.

Voters vote against their own self-interests all the time. It does not invalidate the OP's point.

This is a popular fantasy, but I don't think it is true. People today are already voting for parties that increase tax on them and decrease it for others. Many people vote for things that are not directly benefiting them or are even bad for them, both consciously and out of ignorance.I vote green/left, although they tax me higher, because I think climate change and social justice is more important than whether or not I have 1k per year more or less.

What confuses me the most is that people seem to have accepted the status quo. After all, it is your money that pays for all the government expenses and you can directly influence how this money is allocated through elections (municipal, state, federal levels). But somehow the electorate is unwilling to express their disagreement in elections.

This is a condescending attitude. People vote against their interest all the time. The HN crowd is generally in the top 10% of income and they vote for Democrats who will raise their taxes.

What if people consistently vote against their own best interests?

but it is not left up to a 'small pool of top earners', it is left to voters - if people don't vote, thats the problem that needs to be fixed.

For those who think they can vote themselves other people's money.