Unequal Democracy Quotes

“Many ordinary Americans believe that “large differences in income are necessary for America’s prosperity,” as one standard survey question puts it.18 However, economists who have studied the relationship between inequality and economic growth have found little evidence that large disparities in income and wealth promote growth.19 There is not even much hard evidence in support of the commonsense notion that progressive tax rates retard growth by discouraging economic effort. Indeed, one liberal economist, Robert Frank, has written that “the lessons of experience are downright brutal” to the notion that higher taxes would stifle economic growth by causing wealthy people to work less or take fewer risks.”
― Larry M. Bartels, Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age

“as the economically advantaged groups unleash their greater resources in the political sphere. These groups lobby for tax loopholes, hire lawyers and accountants to maximize their benefit from tax laws, and then deduct the costs.”
― Larry M. Bartels, Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age

“On average, the real incomes of middle-class families have grown twice as fast under Democrats as they have under Republicans, while the real incomes of working poor families have grown six times as fast under Democrats as they have under Republicans. These substantial partisan differences persist even after allowing for differences in economic circumstances and historical trends beyond the control of individual presidents. They suggest that escalating inequality is not simply an inevitable economic trend—and that a great deal of economic inequality in the contemporary United States is specifically attributable to the policies and priorities of Republican presidents.”
― Larry M. Bartels, Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age

“In a political system where nearly every adult may vote but where knowledge, wealth, social position, access to officials, and other resources are unequally distributed, who actually governs?”
― Larry M. Bartels, Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age

“Hibbs's: the average rate of unemployment over the entire postwar era has been almost a full percentage point lower under Democratic presidents than under Republicans, while the average rate of real per capita GDP growth has been more than a full percentage point higher.”
― Larry M. Bartels, Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age

“The share of income going to the rich remained remarkably constant from the mid-1940s through the 1970s and then began to escalate rapidly. For example, the top 5% of taxpayers accounted for 23.0% of total income in 1981 but 37.2% in 2005. The top 1% accounted for 10.0% of total income in 1981 but 21.8% in 2005; after declining gradually over most of the twentieth century, their share of the pie more than doubled in the course of a single generation.”
― Larry M. Bartels, Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age

“the roll call votes cast by U.S. senators are much better accounted for by their own partisanship than by the preferences of their constituents. Moreover, insofar as constituents’ views do matter, political influence seems to be limited entirely to affluent and middle-class people. The opinions of millions of ordinary citizens in the bottom third of the income distribution have no discernible impact on the behavior of their elected representatives. These disparities in representation persist even after allowing for differences between high- and low-income citizens in turnout, political knowledge, and contact with public officials.”
― Larry M. Bartels, Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age