Study: ordinary Americans have virtually no impact whatsoever on the making of national policy. [View all]

[dixiegrrrrl]

File this under "NSS"

The analysts found that rich individuals and business-controlled interest groups largely shape policy outcomes in the United States.

The analysts found that when controlling for the power of economic elites and organized interest groups, the influence of ordinary Americans registers at a "non-significant, near-zero level."
The analysts further discovered that rich individuals and business-dominated interest groups dominate the policymaking process. The mass-based interest groups had minimal influence compared to the business-based interest groups.

The study also debunks the notion that the policy preferences of business and the rich reflect the views of common citizens. They found to the contrary that such preferences often sharply diverge and when they do, the economic elites and business interests almost always win and the ordinary Americans lose.

The authors also say that given limitations to tapping into the full power elite in America and their policy preferences, "the real world impact of elites upon public policy may be still greater" than their findings indicate.

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/civil-rights/214857-who-rules-america