Futurity

How come only rich people run for office?

This video breaks down the gap between wealthy elected officials and the people they represent.

Why do the rich govern America? Millionaires make up only three percent of the public but control all three branches of the federal government. How did this happen? What stops lower-income and working-class Americans from becoming politicians?

In his new book, The Cash Ceiling: Why Only the Rich Run for Office―And What We Can Do about It (Princeton Press, 2018), Nick Carnes, a faculty member at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, takes on these questions. In the book, Carnes provides a comprehensive account of why so few working-class people hold office―and what reformers can do about it.

In this video, Carnes compares the number of millionaires in elected government with the working class people they represent.

Source: Duke University

The post How come only rich people run for office? appeared first on Futurity.

More from Futurity

Futurity3 min read
Brain Discovery Sheds Light On Addiction
New research sheds light on neural processing of diverse classes of rewards in mice, with potential implications for understanding substance use disorders in humans. Drugs like morphine and cocaine fundamentally warp the brain’s reward system—creatin
Futurity3 min read
Young Heavy Drinkers Cut Alcohol Use During Pandemic
A new study finds heavy-drinking young adults decreased alcohol intake during the pandemic. The researchers found alcohol use and alcohol-related problems substantially decreased in heavy-drinking young adults during the pandemic, and these decreases
Futurity2 min readRobotics
Stretchy ‘Skin’ Could Give Robots Sensitivity Of Human Touch
A first-ever stretchy electronic skin could equip robots and other devices with the same softness and touch sensitivity as human skin, researchers report. The e-skin opens up new possibilities to perform tasks that require a great deal of precision a

Related Books & Audiobooks