White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making (Chicago Studies in American Politics) Kindle Edition

Let me preface this by saying that I am a layperson in political science. And I don't think I'm the target market for the book, which is written in a very scholarly style, complete with parenthetical citations and footnotes on tables about the statistical margins.

The general conclusion of the first four chapters of this book, namely that white-collar government types tend to vote in white-collar self-interest, seems so astonishingly self-evident to me that I was very surprised that Carnes' research was really the first to statistically and empirically demonstrate it. I'm sure his work will add a great deal to the literature.
Reading as an armchair fan of politics, though, I did find the book to be a touch redundant. This is probably just because I was inclined to accept the conclusions as premises. His arguments are meticulous and his conclusions diligently earned.

I thought the last two chapters -- the chapters about what harm is done through under-representation of blue-collar workers in government and what we can do about it -- were by far the most interesting, and I would be very interested in reading more in that vein.

Bottom line: If you're into scholarly political science or you have an appreciation for fine statistics, pick this up. Otherwise, read some of the author's papers and columns on related subjects instead.

Nicholas Carnes convincingly demonstrates with a wide range of data sets that lawmakers from different classes clearly bring different economic opinions to the legislative process at the federal, state, and local levels and make different choices on economic issues. The shortage of working-class Americans in the country’s legislatures and the over-representation of white-collar Americans have as consequences that tax policies are more regressive, business regulations are more pro-business, and social safety net programs are thinner. To overcome this under-representation of working-class Americans in the country’s legislatures, Mr. Carnes estimates based on his research that the social class makeup of government is easier to equalize than either political participation or money in politics. The existing organizations supporting working-class candidates also sponsor get-out-the-vote efforts and other routine forms of political participation and help these candidates raise money to fund their campaigns. Mr. Carnes concludes that the current unequal representation of the working class in the country’s legislatures goes against the U.S.’ most cherished political ideals.

People are beginning to realize political parties are not what is causing most of the problems in this nation. This book clearly points out Congress is dominated by people who represent the white-collar class (98%) and have little or no representation for the working class (2%). This ruling class creates legislation that supports the social class they represent. Congress does not necessarily represent the middle class either. The book should be required reading for all Americans who want our government to do what's best for all Americans.

Mr. Carnes has written a book that explains the problem in easy terms of what is WRONG with our political system. There are way to many wealth people who don't have to worry about feeding their kids...making the rent...how to keep a job. Wealthy people don't send their children to war but don't hesitate to put in harms way kids of poverty or middle class. The way to solve this problem is for everyday joes to run for office and to VOTE. In one or two elections if everyone voted we could bring the negative power of money to its knees. Voters must vote for their own interests and not continue to listen to the people with money. Well written book. I highly recommend it.

My friend love it. I bought it as a gift

The book’s thesis is simple and straightforward. If you elect mostly wealthy representatives, you’ll get policy that represents the interests of the well-off. Or, as Carnes puts it in the converse logic: “the shortage of people from the working class in American legislatures skews the policy-making process toward outcomes that are more in line with the upper class’s economic interests.”
About two percent of members of the U.S. Congress came from a working-class occupation. About three percent of the average state legislature and about nine percent of the average city council also come from a working-class background. But more than half (54 percent) of U.S. citizens are in working-class jobs. Something is off. And this distortion has real effects on policy.
White-Collar Government documents what you might have already guessed: that working-class representatives tend to be more concerned about working-class issues. They have more progressive voting records, and they introduce more progressive economic legislation.
But Carnes’ key contribution is showing how that translates into outcomes. State legislatures, those laboratories of democracy, vary in both the share of representatives who come from blue-collar jobs, and the share of state funding allocated to social programs. It turns out the two are correlated. In Maine, for example, one in seven representatives come from blue-collar jobs (making it the most working-class state legislature). It devotes 30 percent of its budget to social programs – one of the highest rates of any state. By contrast, states with higher percentages of business owners tend to have less generous support for unemployment, and lower corporate tax rates. As Carnes summarizes his findings:
“The effects on the well-being of working-class Americans are staggering. Business regulations are more relaxed, tax policies are more generous to the rich, social safety net programs are stingier, and protections for workers are weaker than they would be if our political decision makers came from the same mix of classes as the people they represent.”
One way to assess the challenge that working-class lawmakers face is to look at how hard they work to get their legislation passed. Carnes finds that they work very hard. They tend to introduce progressive economic legislation, and then generate many more co-sponsors than their non-working class colleagues. Yet “the bills they introduce are killed off at an exceptionally high rate.”
Carnes suggests that one reason for their comparative lack of success is that few other members of Congress – and for that matter, relatively few people in Washington -- share that same progressive economic worldview because they just can’t relate to those concerns. They’ve always had it relatively easy, and never lived paycheck to paycheck. Carnes asks a very good question: “What happens when a social group has few or no advocates in our policy-making process, when almost no one in government truly understands the group’s needs or perspectives?” The answer, of course, is that they fare poorly.
Finally, there is the question of what to do about it. Carnes’ suggestion is straightforward: get more working-class people to run for office. Of course, there are challenges. As Carnes notes, “What little evidence there is suggests that blue-collar workers are underrepresented not because of some deficiency on their part, but because of discouraging circumstances, like the high cost of running a campaign, the practical burdens associated with holding office, and the gate-keeping decisions of party leaders and interest groups.”
Running for Congress is insanely expensive. To be taken seriously as a candidate, you need to raise significant sums of money. I suspect this simple fact keeps many working class aspirants out of politics. Rich people tend to have rich friends who will support them. Working class people, not so much.
White-Collar Government stands a sober reminder of why it matters whether Congress is a millionaires’ club, and why we should all probably be paying a little more attention to who gets to make the decisions for the country (not just who is in the room with them).
White-Collar Government is a great (and pretty quick) read, so it’s definitely worth getting a copy. Fortunately, it is on sale for a relatively blue-collar price, at least as far as academic press books go.

I was expecting commentary on white collar government - NOT a compendium of statistical analysis! Not a good read, in my opinion!