A lot of it has to do with an inflated view of one’s self and persecusion complex. Studies have shown that the more conservative one is the better off one thinks they will be. When the whole inheritance tax was being talked about all these poor conservtives thought some day they will be so well off the tax would affect them when in reality their lifetime gross income wouldn’t be enough if they saved it all. The whole “work hard and you will get everything” idea is burned into their brains inspite of reality.

When you then look at any achievement by these same people they make it out to be some crazy effort on their side. All hardships were the extreme and targeting them, in their warped view. They don’t realize their struggles were the same as everyone else and they were helped out in many ways that no one ever picks themselves up by their bootstraps.

So they have this “my life was the worst” and “i pulled myself up with no help” view of their lives that everyone else is just shit. In reality they are so delusional that even common decency is forign to them. Pile on that many are Christians if poor and narcissist and sociopaths if rich the complex grow many fold.