How come only rich people run for office?

Why do the rich govern America? Millionaires make up only three percent of the public but control all three branches of the federal government. How did this happen? What stops lower-income and working-class Americans from becoming politicians?

In his new book, The Cash Ceiling: Why Only the Rich Run for Office―And What We Can Do about It (Princeton Press, 2018), Nick Carnes, a faculty member at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, takes on these questions. In the book, Carnes provides a comprehensive account of why so few working-class people hold office―and what reformers can do about it.

In this video, Carnes compares the number of millionaires in elected government with the working class people they represent.

Source: Duke University

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