logo

Your Voice Really Doesn't Matter, Princeton Study Confirms

image
Created: 07 May, 2015
Updated: 21 November, 2022
1 min read

Have you ever felt like your opinion doesn’t matter? That your elected official does not represent you or your district? That your ideas have no impact on public policy?

If you're among the bottom 90% of income earners in America, you may be justified in feeling this way, a new study led by Professors Martin Gilens (Princeton University) and Benjamin I. Page (Northwestern University) finds.

The study analyzed over 20 years worth of data to answer the following question: Does the government represent the people?

What they found is that the number of American voters for or against any idea has no impact on the likelihood that Congress will make it law.

The preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.” - Princeton University Study.

But there’s a twist…this statistic only holds true to the opinion of the bottom 90% of income earners in America. Big spenders, business interests, and lobbyists with a sizable budget can still influence public policy.

In short, money talks:

In the last 5 years alone, the 200 most politically active companies in the US spent $5.8 billion influencing our government with lobbying and campaign contributions. Those same companies got $4.4 trillion in taxpayer support — earning a return of 750 times their investment.

Explainer_prob3

It’s a vicious cycle of legalized corruption. As the cost of winning elections explodes, politicians of both political parties become ever more dependent on the tiny slice of the population who can bankroll their campaigns. - Represent.Us

Latest articles

votes
Wyoming Purges Nearly 30% of Its Voters from Registration Rolls
It is not uncommon for a state to clean out its voter rolls every couple of years -- especially to r...
27 March, 2024
-
1 min read
ballot box
The Next Big Win in Better Election Reform Could Come Where Voters Least Expect
Idaho isn't a state that gets much attention when people talk about politics in the US. However, this could change in 2024 if Idahoans for Open Primaries and their allies are successful with their proposed initiative....
21 March, 2024
-
3 min read
Courts
Why Do We Accept Partisanship in Judicial Elections?
The AP headline reads, "Ohio primary: Open seat on state supreme court could flip partisan control." This immediately should raise a red flag for voters, and not because of who may benefit but over a question too often ignored....
19 March, 2024
-
9 min read
Nick Troiano
Virtual Discussion: The Primary Solution with Unite America's Nick Troiano
In the latest virtual discussion from Open Primaries, the group's president, John Opdycke, sat down ...
19 March, 2024
-
1 min read
Sinema
Sinema's Exit Could Be Bad News for Democrats -- Here's Why
To many, the 2024 presidential primary has been like the movie Titanic - overly long and ending in a disaster we all saw coming from the start. After months of campaigning and five televised primary debates, Americans are now faced with a rematch between two candidates polling shows a majority of them didn’t want....
19 March, 2024
-
7 min read