The Cash Ceiling: Why Only the Rich Run for Office and What We Can Do about It

341 Pages·2018·3.682 MB·English

by  Nicholas Carnes

THE CASH CEILING
Edited by Tali Mendelberg
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THE CASH CEILING
WHY ONLY THE RICH RUN FOR OFFICE—
AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT
NICHOLAS CARNES
Princeton University Press
Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2018 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR
press.princeton.edu
Jacket images courtesy of Shutterstock and Dreamstime
All Rights Reserved
LCCN 2018945608
ISBN 978- 0- 691- 18200- 1
British Library Cataloging-i n- Publication Data is available
Editorial: Eric Crahan & Pamela Weidman
Production Editorial: Ali Parrington
Text and Jacket Design: Carmina Alvarez
Production: Erin Suydam
Publicity: Tayler Lord
This book has been composed in Gentium Plus and Trade Gothic
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Keri,
every time she sneezes . . .

Contents
List of Figures and Tables ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1
GOVERNMENT BY THE PRIVILEGED 1
2
THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM (IS WRONG) 28
3
WHY DON’T WORKERS RUN? 72
4
WHAT’S STOPPING THEM? 120
5
WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? 158
6
MOVING THE NEEDLE 209
Appendix 227
Notes 285
References 299
Index 317

Figures and Tables
FIGURES
Figure 1.1. The Shortage of Politicians from the Working Class 6
Figure 1.2. Representation Is Improving for Some Groups,
but Not the Working Class 7
Figure 1.3. Like Ordinary Citizens, Politicians from Different
Classes Think Differently 11
Figure 2.1. In an Ideal World, What Would Politicians Be Like? 44
Figure 2.2. Which Qualifications Are Most Important? 45
Figure 2.3. Workers Are about as Likely to Say They Have the
Qualities We Look For 48
Figure 2.4. Workers Are about as Likely to Say They Participate
in Politics 50
Figure 2.5. In the GSS, Workers Seem Just as Qualified, Too 51
Figure 2.6. Cities Governed by the Working Class Do Just Fine 54
Figure 2.7. Working-C lass Candidates Do Well in Elections 61
Figure 2.8. Voters Like Working- Class Candidates 62
Figure 2.9. It’s All about Who Runs 67
Figure 3.1. What State Legislative Candidates Think 73
Figure 3.2. Qualified Workers Worry More about Losing
Time and Income 84
Figure 3.3. Qualified Workers Worry More about Entering
the Race than Fundraising Itself 87
Figure 3.4. Needs Were Barriers for Workers in the 1990
Citizen Participation Study, Too 88