Study: ordinary Americans have virtually no impact whatsoever on the making of national policy.

[dixiegrrrrl]

File this under "NSS"

The analysts found that rich individuals and business-controlled interest groups largely shape policy outcomes in the United States.

The analysts found that when controlling for the power of economic elites and organized interest groups, the influence of ordinary Americans registers at a "non-significant, near-zero level."
The analysts further discovered that rich individuals and business-dominated interest groups dominate the policymaking process. The mass-based interest groups had minimal influence compared to the business-based interest groups.

The study also debunks the notion that the policy preferences of business and the rich reflect the views of common citizens. They found to the contrary that such preferences often sharply diverge and when they do, the economic elites and business interests almost always win and the ordinary Americans lose.

The authors also say that given limitations to tapping into the full power elite in America and their policy preferences, "the real world impact of elites upon public policy may be still greater" than their findings indicate.

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/civil-rights/214857-who-rules-america

[djean111]

1. That has been pretty obvious for years. But we all still gear up, give money, and play the Election

Games.

[deutsey]

2. Yeah, no lie.

[Octafish]

3. ''Non-Significant, Near-Zero Level''

Sums it up, nicely, the Situation.

Thank you, dixigrrrrl! K&R&B.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Wonder if anyone is seriously surprised by this? n/t

[Octafish]

5. Those paying attention, no. About half of the American people don't bother to vote anymore.

Here's another academic who's done a good job of quantifying all this:

Who Rules America?

EXCERPT...

This document focuses on the "Top 1%" as a whole because that's been the traditional cut-off point for "the top" in academic studies, and because it's easy for us to keep in mind that we are talking about one in a hundred. But it is also important to realize that the lower half of that top 1% has far less than those in the top half; in fact, both wealth and income are super-concentrated in the top 0.1%, which is just one in a thousand. (To get an idea of the differences, take a look at an insider account by a long-time investment manager who works for the well-to-do and very rich. It nicely explains what the different levels have -- and how they got it. Also, David Cay Johnston (2011) has written a column about the differences among the top 1%, based on 2009 IRS information.)

CONTINUED w LINKS:

http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html

PS: Really appreciate the OP and the new study, dixiegrrrrl. Truth is what Democracy craves.

[KurtNYC]

6. so the illusion of democracy is simply a pacification program, bread and circuses

[The2ndWheel]

7. How many people can one person represent?

How many people, on average, does each member of congress represent? Hundreds of thousands to millions. There's not a chance that that can actually happen. It's tough enough to represent one other person.

When you have to attempt to listen to however many people you "represent" with all their gripes, or a handful of lobbyists with bags of cash, you're probably going to listen to the people that give you money and not problems.

[Orrex]

8. I fear that's been true since the beginning of representative government

And probably before.

[treestar]

9. It could be because of the attitude that I voted and that's all I have to do

Banding together can cause an influence. People who care cause influence.

People who don't care enough to vote, meh.

People who vote and think that's all they have to do, similar, that's copping out on the issue of self government, then playing the victim.

The politicians know they have to be re-elected. We do have other options than sitting around complaining. It appears we prefer the complaining. And to allow big money to influence our voting decisions and then play the victim.

Citizen groups who rally around an issue are at least doing something.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. It's a lot worse than anyone imagines.

The local and state government, in its race to partnership with local leaders, has cut us out so completely that fraud cover-ups are tolerated. The inside circle convinces itself that they can do anything they want, "for the good of the community." There is a segregation of power that is so complete that the requests for campaign donations is insulting. The FBI and the State Attorney's office will do nothing to step in and help put an end to this trending system.

But the more this alienation continues, the more people lose respect for the process. "Public trust" is such an overused term. We are way beyond that point.

[xchrom]

11. du rec.

[Romulox]

12. Anyone notice how our anger is continually directed inward--at other ordinary Americans? nt

[polichick]

13. Divide-and-conquer tactics continue to work - for now.

[MadrasT]

14. LOL. They needed a study for this? n/t

[woo me with science]

15. kick