White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy MakingEight of the last twelve presidents were millionaires when they took office. Millionaires have a majority on the Supreme Court, and they also make up majorities in Congress, where a background in business or law is the norm and the average member has spent less than two percent of his or her adult life in a working-class job. Why is it that most politicians in America are so much better off than the people who elect them— and does the social class divide between citizens and their representatives matter? With White-Collar Government, Nicholas Carnes answers this question with a resounding—and disturbing—yes. Legislators’ socioeconomic backgrounds, he shows, have a profound impact on both how they view the issues and the choices they make in office. Scant representation from among the working class almost guarantees that the policymaking process will be skewed toward outcomes that favor the upper class. It matters that the wealthiest Americans set the tax rates for the wealthy, that white-collar professionals choose the minimum wage for blue-collar workers, and that people who have always had health insurance decide whether or not to help those without. And while there is no one cause for this crisis of representation, Carnes shows that the problem does not stem from a lack of qualified candidates from among the working class. The solution, he argues, must involve a variety of changes, from the equalization of campaign funding to a shift in the types of candidates the parties support. If we want a government for the people, we have to start working toward a government that is truly by the people. White-Collar Government challenges long-held notions about the causes of political inequality in the United States and speaks to enduring questions about representation and political accountability. |
Contents
1 | |
Chapter Two Voting with Class | 25 |
Chapter Three Before the Votes are Cast | 59 |
Chapter Four Class Opinions and Choices | 85 |
Chapter Five Economic Policy Making in ClassImbalanced Legislatures | 109 |
Chapter Six Fixing the Broken Mirror | 137 |
Notes | 153 |
169 | |
183 | |
Other editions - View all
White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making Nicholas Carnes No preview available - 2013 |
White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making Nicholas Carnes No preview available - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
110th Congresses AFL-CIo American political American Representation Study average blue-collar workers business owners candidates census chapter choices citizens city council class backgrounds class-based differences congressional conservative constituents control variables differences in legislative Dw-NoMINAtE scores economic bills economic issues economic policy election enacted estimates farm owners figure former workers gender inequalities John Boehner labor lawmakers from different lawyers legislative entrepreneurs legislative process legislative voting legislators from different legislatures less liberal Lincoln chafee Linda Sánchez measures members of Congress nomic occupational backgrounds occupational categories opinions party percent percentage policy-making process political institutions politicians prof profes profit-oriented professions project Vote Smart proposals question represent rescaled roll call voting Roster data set scholars service-based professionals social class divisions social class makeup social programs social spending social welfare spent statistical models technical professionals tion underrepresented vote differently vote on economic welfare spending what’s white-collar government white-collar professionals Worker Svc working-class Americans working-class jobs