OPINION:
Movers and shakers, those with outsized influence on the decisions that affect the nation, are out of sync with the rest of us. That was the takeaway from a survey the Committee to Unleash Prosperity released last week.
Nearly three-quarters of the nation’s elite — defined as those earning more than $150,000 per year in a high-density urban area and possessing at least one postgraduate degree — say they are better off today than they were when President Biden moved into the White House.
Ask around in small-town America, and the answer to the question “Are you better off today?” will be quite different. Mr. Biden consistently receives poor marks for his handling of the economy, thanks to big spending that triggered an inflationary spiral and decimated real wages. That’s why just 20% of “regular Americans” say their personal finances are on the upswing.
When asked about their willingness to pay higher taxes to combat the threat of global climate change, 70% of the Champagne-sipping respondents said they’d spend $500 or more per year to do something about it. Among average middle-class voters, 72% were willing to chip in no more than $100 annually.
This bolsters the argument that climate change is an obsession limited to the jet set. Even members of the public who agree that a problem exists don’t see it as a priority.
The survey found 77% of those who see themselves in the upper class — and nearly 90% of a subgroup of graduates from Ivy League colleges or other exclusive private schools such as Northwestern, Duke, Stanford and the University of Chicago — would favor “the strict rationing of gas, meat, and electricity.” On the flip side, about two-thirds of the rank and file aren’t willing to trade their pickup trucks, hamburgers and air conditioning for an electric scooter, tofu salad and a sweat-inducing thermostat setting.
The affluent devote more time chattering about politics than average voters, expressing significantly higher trust that government will “do the right thing.” That split in particular — 70% to 35% — may explain the resistance to compulsory masking, mandated vaccinations, and the economic lockdown we dealt with at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s axiomatic that the privileged few have more ways to get around the government’s dictates than plain folk. That may explain why the well-heeled are three times as likely to say we enjoy “too much individual freedom.” They can get around the rules they don’t like while the rest of us suffer.
More than one prominent political thinker has been saying that there are “two Americas” today, a sentiment the Committee to Unleash Prosperity research confirms. One is made up of people who hold views common among the middle and working classes. The other is populated by those who consider themselves better than the rest of us, based solely on their income, education and ZIP code — but surprisingly not by their partisan affiliation.
This helps explain why so many voters feel alienated and powerless. To them, the swamp is real.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.