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1 Inequality in the United States 1

2 Political Participation and Income Percent Active Voting Campaign Work Campaign Contribution under $15,000 $75,000 and over Contact Protest Affiliated w/ Political Organization This figure contrasts six kinds of political activity across two income groups - families earning below $15,000 and those above $75,000. For the most part, the American poor participate much less in politics than do those with higher incomes, a difference that is especially stark when looking at who contributes to campaigns. Type of Political Participation Source: This figure is adapted from Sidney Verba, Kay Schlozman and Henry Brady s book, Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American, pg Inequality in the United States 2

3 Senator Responsiveness to Constituent Income Senator Responsiveness st Congress 102nd Congress 103rd Congress This chart displays senator responsiveness and constituent income. It shows that senators roll call votes are much more responsive to the political preferences of middle and high income constituents than they are to low-income constituents. In addition to participating less in politics, the poor are also less likely to have their preferences represented by their elected representatives. 0-1 Low Middle High Constituent Income Source: These graphs represent the result of a regression analysis by Bartels (2008) of constituency opinion on senator s roll call votes across the 101st, 102nd, and 103rd congresses. Inequality in the United States 3

4 Income and Political Influence Predicted Probability of Change Questions where Preferences of the 10th and 90th Income Percentiles Diverge 10th percentile 90th percentile 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Percent Favoring Change This chart depicts the relationship between the percentage of an income group that wants political change and whether or not that political change actually occurs. When policy preferences between income groups diverge, it is the preferences of the rich who get converted into actual policy. The more the wealthy (90th percentile in terms of income) desire change, the more likely it is for political change to occur. Source: Gilens, Martin Inequality and Democratic Responsiveness. Public Opinion Quartlerly 69 (5): Inequality in the United States 4

5 Political Awareness, Ideology, and Perceptions of Income Inequality Probability of Agreement Liberals Conservatives This chart illustrates the relationship between political ideology, general political awareness, and perceptions of income inequality. The more politically aware (horizontal axis) a Liberal is the more likely she is to recognize that income inequality has increased (vertical axis). By contrast, the more politically aware a Conservative is, the less likely she is to recognize that income inequality has increased Political Awareness Percentile Source: Bartels, L.M Unequal democracy: The political economy of the new gilded age. Princeton University Press. Inequality in the United States 5

6 Income growth by Percentile under Democratic and Republican Presidents Average annual growth in real income (%) Democrats Republicans Income Percentile This graph depicts income growth for the American population under Democratic and Republican administrations. Under Democratic presidents, poorer families incomes grew at a slightly higher rate than those of more wealthy families, producing a small net decrease in income inequality. Under Republican Administrations, the rich did significantly better than the poor, leading to a large increase in inequality. Source: Bartels, L.M Unequal democracy: The political economy of the new gilded age. Princeton University Press. Inequality in the United States 6

7 Inequality in the United States Contributors Education Debt Mobility Gender Health Race & Ethnicity Wealth Employment Pover ty Income Immigration Violent Crime Family Kendra Bischoff Anmol Chaddha Erin Cumberworth Sharon Jank Carly Knight Bridget Lavelle Krystale Littlejohn Lindsay Owens David Pedulla Kristin Perkins Sharon Jank Ariela Schachter Jordan Segall Chris Wimer