Elites out of touch? Study shows the influential 1% hold different views from average Americans

[comana]

I think this is just more vilifying of higher education.

 

[FenderTL5]

St. Louis is a major urban center and pays less, the cost of living is lower there. Also - how much does DC pay?

House representatives don't make much more than 150 a year and many of them have post graduate degrees.

What about their interns and workers... What about judges, prosecutors?

I think if your looking for these types of people you have to drop the income to 150 to include them across multiple cities.

When you drop the income to 150K to include them, you have radically expanded the definition of "elite 1%" to include far beyond 1%..

What percentage of the people living in a major urban center are educated and earn above 150K?
The idea that it would be limited to an elite 1% is ridiculously stupid.

 

[Hazelelponi]

When you drop the income to 150K to include them, you have radically expanded the definition of "elite 1%" to include far beyond 1%..

What percentage of the people living in a major urban center are educated and earn above 150K?
The idea that it would be limited to an elite 1% is ridiculously stupid.

It was not about wealthy people.

It's about people who influence our laws and our media...

The elite 1% is not the wealthiest 1%, it's just the 1% most influencial over peoples lives. Professors, judges, prosecutors, teachers, politicians etc.

 

[FenderTL5]

It was not about wealthy people.

It's about people who influence our laws and our media...

The elite 1% is not the wealthiest 1%, it's just the 1% most influencial over peoples lives. Professors, judges, prosecutors, teachers, politicians etc.

Again, you are expanding the notion of an elite 1%. The more you include in your list, the percentage gets higher not lower.
Just curious; why did you exclude business leaders and owners from your list? Do you consider them non-influential?

The only way to get to your conclusion is to start cherry picking individuals and saying "this well educated person making over 150K is influential" and then exclude hundreds more just like them as non-influential. Again it's preposterous.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Again, you are expanding the notion of an elite 1%. The more you include in your list, the percentage gets higher not lower.
Just curious; why did you exclude business leaders and owners from your list? Do you consider them non-influential?

The only way to get to your conclusion is to start cherry picking individuals and saying "this well educated person making over 150K is influential" and then exclude hundreds more just like them as non-influential. Again it's preposterous.

We need to differentiate between a percentage who most influences society from a percentage of super wealthy people.

You have two groups that you're trying to bunch together I think.

 

[FenderTL5]

We need to differentiate between a percentage who most influences society from a percentage of super wealthy people.

You have two groups that you're trying to bunch together I think.

Then the statistical data included in the article is worthless window dressing. To include those in the 150K range was intentional cherry-picking to include some group or individual to sway the outcome one way or another.
It doesn't take another study to know that the US is an oligarchy where only the rich few are the one's wielding actual influence.

There's no way on earth that a rank and file school teacher in St. Louis (or any other major urban center) carries the level of influence of the Koch Bros, George Soros, Elon Musk, Bill Gates or the Walton Family.


but.. I suppose that latter grouping does make more than 150K... [/sarcasm]

 

[BCP1928]

We need to differentiate between a percentage who most influences society from a percentage of super wealthy people.

You have two groups that you're trying to bunch together I think.

You don't think our super wealthy influence society?

 

[comana]

Not just vilifying the educated but specifically educated who fit into the list below-

Basics of the Elite 1%​

• 73% Identify as Democrats
• 67% are 35-54 Years of Age
• 86% are White
• 47% Support "Sanders like Policies"

Home

theeliteonepercent.org

 

[Hazelelponi]

You don't think our super wealthy influence society?

Oh not the same as some who make less.

 

[SimplyMe]

Not just vilifying the educated but specifically educated who fit into the list below-

Basics of the Elite 1%​

• 73% Identify as Democrats
• 67% are 35-54 Years of Age
• 86% are White
• 47% Support "Sanders like Policies"

Home

theeliteonepercent.org

But, as keeps being pointed out on this thread, that isn't the "Elite 1%" -- instead it is a cherry picking to get the results they want and should instead be termed the Elite 15% (or so). You have to get close to earnings of $1 million to get to the 1% -- and the opinions they are trying to put on the "Elite 1%" change drastically when you remove those who earn under $1 million.

 

[RoBo1988]

Elites out of touch? Study shows the influential 1% hold different views from average Americans

According to the project, the elite one percent who influence media narratives live in densely populated urban areas, make over $150K a year and have a postgraduate degree. But for whom do they speak?

justthenews.com

According to the project, the elite one percent who influence media narratives live in densely populated urban areas, make over $150K a year and have a postgraduate degree. But for whom do they speak?
When it comes to elitists in America, a recent study has shown that they are wildly out of touch with the average, everyday American people on a lot of issues such as freedom and the economy.
A project was recently conducted by prominent pollster Scott Rasmussen titled "Elite 1 Percent" goes into detail about who the one percent are and what their views are regarding American policies.
According to the project, the elite one percent live in densely populated urban areas, make over $150K a year and have a postgraduate degree.

"Too much freedom"​

"The views and influence of the Elite 1% may be the root cause of the political toxicity in our nation today," Rasmussen wrote on the social media platform, X. "Their underlying attitudes reflect an implicit rejection of the ideal that governments derive their only just authority from the consent of the governed." Some of the basics that Rasmussen observed is that the "elites" identify as Democrats, by 73%, more than half of them being between the ages of 35 and 54.
Rasmussen found in his study that 47% of the elite one percent think that Americans have "too much freedom."
“The Elite 1% wield a tremendous amount of institutional power but are wildly out of touch with the nation they want to rule," he said.
“Over the years they have built institutions and mechanisms of regulatory power that are immune to the checks and balances of elections. Worse still, these same elites own, operate, and control a large majority of media outlets, blocking out the true voice of the American people and broadcasting their own out of touch viewpoints," he continued.

Another difference between everyday Americans and the elite one percent is that 70% of the elite trust the government to make the right decisions.

Trust in government​

In April of 2024, a study came out that said only about 22% of Americans trust the federal government.
"Trust in government began eroding during the 1960s, amid the escalation of the Vietnam War, and the decline continued in the 1970s with the Watergate scandal and worsening economic struggles," the Pew Research Center said in the report. "As of April 2024, 22% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (2%) or “most of the time (21%) that report said.
Rasmussen posits that many of the elites are unaware of the thought gap between them and everyday American people.

John "Heinz" Kerry, who made his money the old fashioned way - he married into it; is a great example of this:

John Kerry Says First Amendment Is ‘Major Block’ to Stopping ‘Disinformation,’ Hopes to ‘Implement Change’ to That

Democratic politician John Kerry described the First Amendment as a “major block” to the federal government stopping wha

cbn.com

 

[ralliann]

You seem to be confusing wealthy with elite.

Yep.

It appears the pollster is looking at the people who wield actual power and influence within major urban centers as opposed people who just made good in life.

They think they know best and we do not. So we should not have the freedom to choose government.