Income inequality makes the poor more conservative -- more likely to support smaller government and actually to perpetuate income inequality, two academics argue in a report released earlier this year.
The report, "Inequality and the Dynamics of Public Opinion: The Self-Reinforcing Link Between Economic Inequality and Mass Preferences" (pdf), authored by Nathan J. Kelly and Peter K. Enns, says income inequality is a self-perpetuating condition: As it increases, public opinion among both the rich and the poor shifts increasingly in its favor.
The authors' conclusion, which they say is likely to be "surprising to many readers," is that "both the rich and the poor respond to rising inequality by shifting in a conservative direction." This conservatism includes a desire to cut government programs such as welfare.
For more: KellyEnns_preprint.pdf - By Nitro PDF Software
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