I’ve literally heard coworkers mention the whole “I actually don’t want a raise because my taxes would go up and I’d make less” bullshit before. I do what I can to redirect them when I hear it, but some people are extremely dug into their worldview and don’t want to be helped. Like acknowledging a progressive tax rate would require acknowledging that their entire concept of income and taxation is built on a lie.

I had an outright argument with one of my own coworkers about this very subject less than six months ago. Even with all of the insane bullshit going on outside today people still just refuse to look up and read any sort of information for themselves.