How big is the gap between the donor class and ordinary Americans? Bigger than you think.

[Bill USA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/12/15/how-big-is-the-gap-between-the-donor-class-and-ordinary-americans-bigger-than-you-think/?utm_term=.53f36bf7e720

Money’s influence is a perennial concern in American politics. [font size="3"]And with President-elect Donald Trump filling up his potential cabinet with millionaires, billionaires and his campaign donors, the discussion has become more prominent. {how about 'more important"..B USA}[/font]

A central question is whether donors, as a result of their financial support of politicians, exert disproportionate influence over public policy. Political scientists’ research has drawn differing conclusions.

Some suggest that donors are able to persuade elected officials to support the positions they favor. Other studies suggest that while the wealthy might be more influential than middle-class or low-income Americans, money is just one source of power, with higher levels of activism and participation among the affluent also helping them shape government policy.

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Our new report for the public policy organization Demos, “Whose Voice, Whose Choice?,“ details the composition of the “donor class.” We analyze survey data that provides new insight into their political beliefs. In contrast to a diversifying U.S. population, donors are overwhelmingly white, male, and wealthy. They also tend to hold more consistently ideological political views than average Americans, particularly on the Republican side.
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