Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America

Martin Gilens

How closely does American government follow what the public wants, and does a citizen's income change whose preferences count?

At a glance

You will see evidence that policy outcomes reflect the preferences of affluent Americans far more than those of less affluent citizens
You will know how little chance a strongly opposed policy has, since the data show a clear bias toward the status quo
You will question whether low political knowledge makes public opinion meaningless, given the claim that aggregate opinion is more stable than individual views