Them vs. U.S.: The Two Americas, The Elites and The Deplorables — Study

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A recent report shows just how deep the split between wealthy university graduates and the rest is.

From their views on climate change to their views on education, the detached top 1% of the US populace has voiced a range of opinions so dramatically different from the status quo that it could sink the country.

At a time when there is anxious talk of people being forced to eat bugs, embrace illegal immigrants, inhabit 15-minute cities and own nothing – all the while “being happy” – there is no better time to examine the mindset of the people who throw their hefty weight behind such bold initiatives, namely, the elite.

According to the Committee to Unleash Prosperity (CUP), the elite are defined as people who have at least one post-graduate degree, earn at least $150,000 annually, and live in high-population areas, primarily urban coastal zones, like New York City, Boston and Los Angeles. Members of this pampered tribe of overachievers are also likely to have graduated from one of America’s 12 prestigious Ivy League universities, which include Harvard, Cornell, Yale and Princeton, and are increasingly becoming bastions of woke ideology.

Them vs. U.S.: The Two Americas and How the Nation’s Elite Is Out of Touch with Average Americans

Executive Summary

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

‘The people who run America, or at least think they do, live in a bubble of their own construction. They’ve isolated themselves from everyday America’s realities to such a degree their views about what is and what should be happening in this country differ widely from the average American’s.

An analysis of their thinking, conducted for the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, finds that on a variety of economic, social, and political issues, there exists a wide gap between how the top 1% – the Elites – think things should be and how the rest of America looks at them.

Elite thinking, as it’s termed, is under attack – and rightly so – for being out of step with the rest of the country.

Below, we highlight some of the profound attitudes suspected: today, there are two Americas. One is wealthier, more highly educated, and attended the best schools. They put much more trust in big government “to do the right thing” and, by their own admission, benefit from more expansive government policies. They have also been hurt far less by the high inflation of the Biden presidency than those who live from paycheck to paycheck and are in the lower and middle classes.

Final differences between elites and average Americans:

  •  In a time when most Americans have suffered a loss of real take-home pay, 74% of elites say they are financially better off today than in the past versus 20% of all Americans.
  • Nearly six in ten say there is too much individual freedom in America – double the rate of all Americans.
  • More than two-thirds (67%) favor rationing of vital energy and food sources to combat the threat of climate change.
  •  In stark contrast to the rest of America, 70% of the Elites trust the government to “do the right thing most of the time.”
  • Two-thirds (67%) say teachers and other educational professionals should decide what children are taught rather than letting parents decide. ‘
  • Somewhere between half and two-thirds favor banning things like SUVs, gas stoves, air conditioning, and non-essential air travel to protect the environment.
  •  About six of ten elites have a favorable opinion of the so-called talking professions—lawyers, lobbyists, politicians, and journalists.
  • President Joe Biden enjoys an 84% job approval rating from this group – roughly twice as high as the general public.

The survey is a first-of-its-kind look at the views of the American Elite – defined as people having at least one post-graduate degree, earning at least $150,000 annually, and living in high-population density areas (more than 10,000 people per square mile in their zip code) – and compares them to what the average American thinks. The Elites represent 1% of the U.S. population but have an outsized voice on public policy in the United States, with their views seeming somehow to dominate the national conversation.

This may be because it is the Elites themselves who determine what that conversation will be about on campus, in the legacy media, and corporate board rooms. Not surprisingly, these people talk about politics far more than most Americans. The data show that nearly a third of them (30%) talk about politics daily almost every day. Just 9% of the voting public do. It is worth noting that members of the Elites who talk about politics daily have views that are even further removed from the opinions of the voting public.

This is true even when the Elites self-identify as Republicans. They typically may be more conservative than Elite Democrats but they still have attitudes and opinions that are far removed from those of the typical American voter. The Elite class – regardless of party – is an exclusive club that sees and experiences America through a different lens than ordinary American.

This Grand Canyon-sized chasm between where every day Americans stand on the state of the country, expanding government power, draconian climate change solutions, and Joe Biden’s job performance may partly explain the Donald Trump phenomenon and his high approval ratings among working-class voters, who feel wholly connected with the rebellion against the arrogance of the ruling class Elites.

[ … ]

The Elites, a group with extraordinary political and societal power, have views and attitudes that are wildly out of touch with the American people. At the center of the gap is a difference of opinion over individual freedom. Most Americans think there is too little freedom in our nation today, a view shared by only 21% of the Elites.

There are subsets of this elite world with even more extreme views. Roughly a third of these Elites talk politics daily. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of this politically active segment believe there is too much individual freedom. Only 12% share the public’s view that there is not enough individual freedom in America today. These un-American views are not the result of a conspiracy. They arise from what might be better described as a fraternity culture. Just over half of the Elites have a degree from one of the twelve Elite universities.

These schools play a crucial role in defining the Elite culture and perspectives. Elites who attended one of these schools are more likely to talk about politics, and have more extreme views than Elites who attended other schools.

Among those who attended one of the 12 schools and talked about politics daily, 73% believe there is too much individual freedom in America today, and 95% trust the government to do the right thing most of the time. Another significant demographic divide among the Elites is a notable generation gap. Among members of the Elites who are 55 or older, just 10% think there is too much individual freedom—a majority (54%) of Elites under 35 hold that view.

Other attitudes in the survey flow naturally from the difference of opinion concerning individual freedom. To fight climate change, members of the Elites strongly support remaking American society by banning things that are part of the fabric of life in America. Outside of the Elite bubble, such bans are not a part of serious conversation. Supporting the lack of Elites’ concern about freedom is an extraordinary level of Elite trust in the government. Seventy percent (70%) of the Elites trust the federal government to do the right thing most of the time. That level of trust likely comes from the fact that leading government officials are drawn from the same cultural background as the Elites.

Additionally, unlike most voters, Elites can easily access and influence government officials on issues of concern. It is important to note that not all members of the Elites are elitists. Some don’t think about politics all that much, and others actively support traditional American values such as individual freedom. Still, given the influence they yield, the overall views of the Elites represent an existential threat to America’s founding ideals of freedom, equality, and self-governance.

Continue reading the full study.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. All rights reserved.

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