Equal Opportunity

Cartoon by Barry

The cartoon shows two men. The first man, a young man wearing a suit and tie, is clean-shaven with short hair, and is standing near a park bench, talking on his cell phone. Seated on the park bench is the second man, a bit older in appearance, with stubble and a van dyke beard. He is wearing a knit cap, a hoodie, and sweatpants.

PANEL 1
SUIT: We need equal opportunities, not equal outcomes. No free lunches for anyone! You can’t get more egalitarian than that.
SWEATS (cheerfully): There’s no such thing as “equal opportunity.”

PANEL 2
Suit removes his phone from his ear and turns to face Sweats.
SUIT: Excuse me?
SWEATS: Someone who’s tall has a better shot at being a basketball star. Someone with rich parents is born with a big advantage. “Opportunities” are never really equal.

PANEL 3
A close shot of Sweats, as he gestures to indicate himself.
SWEATS: And what about someone like me? I’ve never been able to hold down a job… would you say I deserve starvation and homelessness?

PANEL 4
Suit looks abashed.
SUIT: Well… not to your face.
SWEATS: Mighty egalitarian of you.

Posted in Economic cartoons |

It’s Great To See Such Diverse Job Applicants

Cartoon by Barry

Transcript of cartoon:

Panel 1 shows four executives sitting at a desk. We can only see the backs of their heads; they all have the same height and haircut. The four executives are facing a large group of people dressed up for a job application. There are a similar number of women and men, who appear to be of a range of ages, races, sizes, and ethnic backgrounds. One applicant is using crutches to stand.
EXEC 2: It’s great to see such diverse job applicants! Rest assured, our firm does not discriminate against women or minorities.

Panel 2. We are now looking at the four executives from the front. They are all identical white men in business suits.
EXEC 1: But we can’t hire everybody, so… Anyone who didn’t graduate from the “right” kind of college, please leave.

Panel 3
EXEC 2: Anyone with family responsibilities that could interfere with work, please leave.

Panel 4
EXEC 3: Anyone without a recommendation from someone already in the field, please leave.

Panel 5
EXEC 4: Anyone whose accent or look or gender presentation wouldn’t be a “fit” for our firm’s existing culture, please leave.

Panel 6 shows the applicants again; only one is left. Other than being younger, he looks precisely like the four executives.
EXEC 4: Gentleman, we’ve found our new hire!

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions, Racism & Racists, Sexism & Misogyny |

Maternity Leave vs Profit

Cartoon by Barry

This cartoon was done in collaboration with my friend Becky Hawkins. I did the writing and lettering with Becky’s help, Becky did the drawing with me helping on layouts, and I did the gray tones.

Transcript:

Panel 1
A woman in a collared shirt and black pants is talking to a businessman in a fancy suit.
WOMAN: Businesses oppose paid maternity leave because you put money above women’s health!
BUSINESSMAN: We care deeply about women! We’re against paid leave because it’s bad for women!

Panel 2
The businessman has pulled a mother, holding a crying newborn, into the panel.
WOMAN: Women need time off to recover after giving birth.
BUSINESSMAN: Nonsense! Just look at Tiana here… She can’t wait to get back to work. It’s patronizing of you to say otherwise!
TIANA: So tired….

Panel 3
BUSINESSMAN: Paid maternity leave makes hiring women more expensive – and that means companies will discriminate against hiring them! Have a heart!

Panel 4
The businessman violently shoves Tiana off-panel.
WOMAN: So we’ll give paid leave to new mothers AND new fathers!
BUSINESSMAN: But that would cost MONEY!

Posted in Becky Hawkins collaborations, Economic cartoons, Health care, Labor rights & Unions, Sexism & Misogyny |

The Right To Work

Cartoon by Barry

Transcript of cartoon.

Panel 1: A Young Guy in a sweatshirt is talking to a well-off looking older man, who is wearing a double-breasted jacket and a tie.

SWEATS: Your “right to work” law sounds excellent! I’d love to have a right to have a job!
TIE: Sounds that way, doesn’t it? But actually, “right to work” laws aren’t a right to a job!

Panel 2
SWEATS: So what do they do?
TIE: “Right to work” laws give workers the right to take all the benefits of their union’s work without ever joining the union!

Panel 3
SWEATS: So “right to work” laws are actually about the right to freeload?
TIE: Exactly! And the more people freeload, the weaker unions become. That way, your boss gets all the power!

Panel 4
SWEATS: This doesn’t sound so excellent anymore.
TIE: Give it a chance! You haven’t even heard about the lower wages yet!

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

Trans Bills

Cartoon by Barry

This cartoon features two characters: A woman in a striped skirt and a black sleeveless shirt, and a stereotypical businessman carrying a little briefcase.

Panel 1
WOMAN: I ready to let people know my true self… I’m a woman! Always have been!
MAN: (Handing her a small piece of paper) Okay! Here you are!

Panel 2
WOMAN: What’s this?
MAN: It’s a bill for changing your name and gender on your birth certificate.
WOMAN: That’s not so bad.

Panel 3
The man isn’t shown in this panel, but from his direction, a flood of little bills shoots at the woman. The man’s dialog fills so much space in this panel that it looks like the woman is in danger of being buried under it.
MAN: And a bill for surgery. And a bill for a legal name change. And a bill for hormone treatment. And a bill for a new passport. And an electrolysis bill. And the bill for updating your social security info. And a bill for yet another surgery, which you’ll need to take months off from work to recover from. And bills for a new wardrobe. And voice lessons. And…
WOMAN: Eep!

Panel 4 (last panel)
The woman looks shellshocked as she holds a huge armload of bills. The man holds out yet another slip of paper to her.
WOMAN: I didn’t realize my true self was so deeply in debt…
MAN: Oh, look a note from your boss! It turns out that firing people for being trans is still legal.

Tiny “kicker” panel inset in panel 4
MAN: And did you know about the wage gap?
WOMAN: Please stop talking.

Posted in Economic cartoons, LGBT cartoons |

Our Exports Include Tragedy And Death

Cartoon by Barry

(This cartoon, like all my color cartoons, is also available in black and white.)

Script of cartoon:

Panel 1: An Uncle Sam sort of figure, wearing a top hat with stars and stripes and a floral Hawaiian shirt, is talking to a cigar-chomping businessman.

Uncle Sam has his hand on a sign sticking out of the dirt. The sign says “NEVER AGAIN!”

UNCLE SAM: 146 workers died in the Triangle Factory fire! We can NEVER let that happen again!
BUSINESSMAN: If you institute safety regulations for my factories, I’ll be forced to raise prices! You play a few cents extra per shirt!

Panel 2
Close-up of Uncle Sam, who is looking very anxious about this dilemma.
UNCLE SAM: A few cents? That’s HORRIBLE! But hundreds of factory workers dying is ALSO horrible! What a DILEMMA!

Panel 3
BUSINESSMAN: I know! I’ll build totally unregulated factories in other countries! So shirts will stay cheap, but we won’t have any more big factory tragedies in the USA!

Panel 4
UNCLE SAM: Hooray! EVERYBODY wins!
BUSINESSMAN: That’s capitalism for ya.

We can see that the “NEVER AGAIN!” sign now has a piece of paper taped under it; the paper says “Where we have to see it.”

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

Marriage Fixes Everything!

Cartoon by Barry

Description of cartoon:

The cartoon depicts a young mother and her toddler, in a small and crappy-looking room. The woman is bent double under a load of boxes, trunks and bags, each of which is labeled: Unemployment, Lack of Education, Illness, Bigotry, Exhaustion, Low Wages, Childcare, Looking Poor, and Crime.

Also in the room is a young white guy, wearing a necktie and suspenders, who is grinning happily and telling the woman “I know what’s holding you down! You should be married!”

In a little “epilog” panel at the bottom of the cartoon, the guy continues “…Unless you’re gay.”

Posted in Barry's favorites, Economic cartoons, LGBT cartoons |

DEBT!

Cartoon by Barry

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels. Each panel depicts two characters, a woman in casual clothing (striped pants, sleeveless shirt) and a balding man wearing a collared shirt and necktie.

Panel 1
WOMAN: So why can’t we address the unemployment crisis?
MAN: Because FIRST we HAVE to do something about government DEBT!

Panel 2
WOMAN: But why can’t we–
MAN (Jumping up and down): DEBT! DEBT! DEBT!

Panel 3
The man’s head has grown to three times ordinary size, as he yells, waving his arms in the air, his tongue sticking out of his mouth. The woman is bowled over by his intensity.
MAN: DEBT! DEBT! DEBT! DEBT! DEBT! DEBT!

Panel 4
WOMAN: OKAY! Let’s lower the debt. We can raise taxes on the rich…
MAN: Hey, HEY! Let’s not get EXTREME!

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Ten Reasons We’re Against Unions!

Cartoon by Barry

You can purchase a print of this cartoon.

Transcript of cartoon:

Panel 1
Large lettering shows the title: Ten Reasons We’re Against Unions!
Below the title lettering, a group of picketing workers can be seen. Most are just silhouettes, but three people in the foreground are drawn in more detail, and their signs can be read.
SIGN 1: Workers United Against Workers Uniting
SIGN 2: I Prefer Having No Power!
SIGN 3: I (heart symbol) Bosses

Panel 2
WOMAN 1: Unions just want to line their own pockets!
WOMAN 2: Unlike bosses, who have only our best interests at heart.

Panel 3
Man counts off points on the fingers of one hand. The hand has seven fingers.
MAN: Other than weekends, lunch breaks, overtime pay, parental leave, pension plans, higher wages, and sick leave, what good have unions ever done?

Panel 4
Rosie the Riveter, in her traditional showing off the bicep pose, but she’s inanely grinning.
ROSIE: I deserve less pay than men.

Panel 5
Two men with work-uniform vests on. The first man is missing teeth, and an ear, and an eye, and has a hook replacing one hand. The second man has a wooden peg instead of a head.
EYEPATCH MAN: I wouldn’t want the company wasting money making my job safer!
PEGHEAD MAN: Heck no!

Panel 6
Professorial type with glasses and pipe holds up a crude drawing of a face with fangs and horns, labeled “unions.”
PROF: Speaking objectively, all unions are evil! Eeevviilllll!

Panel 7
CHEERFUL WOMAN: I want the “right to work!” Along with the right to be arbitrarily fired!

Panel 8
White woman speaks in foreground, oblivious to the two Black folks in the background who look annoyed by her words.
WHITE WOMAN: Who cares if unions reduce the pay gap between non-white and white workers?

Panel 9
A businessman flies high in the sky, riding on a giant packet of cash, his necktie flapping in the wind.
BUSINESSMAN: It’s wrong that unions spend money influencing Congress. Only business should get to do that!

Panel 10
Young woman, brimming with confidence, speaks in the foreground. In the background, three other people, one carrying a box, one typing at a terminal – also speak. All four are wearing identical hats and short-sleeved shirts – they’re clearly co-workers.
YOUNG WOMAN: One day, I’ll get rich, and I’ll be the boss. Once that happens, I won’t want some union getting in my way!
COWORKER 1: I’m also gonna be boss!
COWORKER 2: Me too!
COWORKER 3: Me too!

Panel 11
Woman shrugging.
WOMAN: Who’d want more power at work?[

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

The Federal Budget Is Like Your Family’s Budget!

Cartoon by Barry

Transcript of Cartoon

Two women, who I will call “Black Dress” and “Sneakers,” are talking.

Panel 1
BLACK DRESS: The Federal government’s budget is just like a family budget!
SNEAKERS: Really? Your family prints its own currency?

Panel 2
BLACK DRESS: Well, no.
SNEAKERS: Can your family sell its own super-low-interest bonds to borrow money?

Panel 3
Both women have become a bit annoyed with the other.
BLACK DRESS: No! But when I do my family budget, I can’t spend more than I earn.
SNEAKERS: Then how will anyone in your family ever own a home? Or go to college?

Panel 4
BLACK DRESS: My point is, the government has to cut back! Starting with social security!
SNEAKERS (horrified): Your family saves money by robbing Grandma?

Posted in Barry's favorites, Economic cartoons |

How We Define Unemployment, And Who Benefits

Cartoon by Barry

Two characters are standing on the planet earth. They are giants – they could step across a continent in five steps – but they’re drawn in an adorable tiny-body-cute-head fashion. One of them is wearing a floral-patterned short sleeve shirt and an “uncle Sam” hat; the other wears a business suit.

Panel 1
UNCLE SAM: The economy is awful! How will we fix this mess?
BUSINESSMAN: I know! Let’s measure unemployment with a bizarre definition that makes it look much smaller!

Panel 2
MAN: I can’t find full-time work so I’m supporting my kids with a twelve hour a week job.
BUSINESSMAN (popping in from the side of the panel, in the foreground, and addressing the readers instead of the man, with a manic grin): Not unemployed!

Panel 3
WOMAN: I want to work, but after ten months of looking and no luck, I’ve given up.
UNCLE SAM (again, popping in and not looking at the other character): Not unemployed!

Panel 4
MUSTACHE MAN: I made five bucks by watching my friend’s baby for an hour this week.
BUSINESSMAN: (You get the idea by now, right?) Not unemployed!

Panel 5
PUNK WOMAN: I do chores fifteen hours a week at my parents’ farm, but I’m not paid.
UNCLE SAM: Not unemployed!

Panel 6
STUDENT CARRYING BOOK: I’m taking a month off from job-hunting to take classes to improve my skills.
BUSINESSMAN: Not unemployed!

Panel 7
UNCLE SAM: That was amazing! We cut unemployment in half without doing a thing to help anyone!
BUSINESSMAN: Problem solved!

Sub-panel at the end
CROWD OF PEOPLE WITHOUT JOBS BUT NOT OFFICIALLY UNEMPLOYED: Wait, what about us?
UNCLE SAM: Get a job!

Posted in Economic cartoons |

The Minimum Wage Versus The Earned Income Tax Credit

Cartoon by Barry

The cartoon shows two people arguing, a young woman with her hair in a ponytail, and an older man wearing a suit.

PANEL 1
WOMAN: We need to help low-income workers, we should raise the minimum wage!
MAN (thoughtfully): The minimum wage is inefficient. To really help low income workers, you’d have to raise the Earned Income Tax Credit.

PANEL 2
WOMAN (enthused): Sounds good! Let’s raise the Earned Income Tax Credit.
MAN (angry): NEVER! That would increase government spending!

PANEL 3
WOMAN: But you just said…
MAN: What a shame there’s no policy that helps low-income workers without government spending.

PANEL 4
WOMAN (annoyed): You mean, like raising the minimum wage?
MAN (enthused): Hey, you know what poor people really need? Tax cuts for millionaires!

SMALL ADDITIONAL PANEL AT END
WOMAN (enthused): We should raise both the minimum wage and the tax credit!
MAN: Give me a sec to work out why I’m against that.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

It’s A Matter Of Perspective

Cartoon by Barry

Panel 1
An old man, who is a Senator, wearing a suit and tie, sits behind a large desk. There is an American flag behind the desk.
SENATOR: I love being a Senator. Lots of assistants, comfy chair, the pay is great, and I never lift anything heavier than my laptop.

Panel 2
SENATOR: I could keep doing this job forever!

Panel 3
As it snows heavily, an old man wearing a plaid shirt struggles to life a huge bundle of newspapers out of a truck. Behind him, through the snow, we can see the Capitol Building in the background.

On the front paper of the bundle of papers, we can read the headline: CONGRESS RAISES RETIREMENT AGE. A sub-headline says “Senator: ‘I’ve never met anyone who wants to stop working!'”

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

Immigration and Jobs

Cartoon by Barry

PANEL 1
Illustration shows Alamar, a dark-skinned man wearing overalls and a hardhat, standing behind a partly built brick wall holding a brick in one hand and a trowel in the other.
CAPTION: Alamar came to the United States to find work. Alamar is a brick mason. He works hard and is very productive.

PANEL 2
Illustration shows Alamar continuing to work on the wall, while a woman nearby wearing a hardhat checks something off on her clipboard. Behind Alamar, a man walks up carrying a box. Behind that man, a large truck has pulled up.
CAPTION: Because Alamar is so productive, people in related jobs, like brickmakers, site supervisors, and truckers, have more work to do.

PANEL 3
Illustration shows Alamar, no longer wearing a hardhat, buying groceries from a cashier.
CAPTION: All those people, including Alamar, spend money in the local economy, on things like groceries and movies and diners and gas and clothes. All that spending creates more jobs.

PANEL 4
Illustration shows Alamar back at work on the wall. Next to him, an angry bald man is yelling.
CAPTION: That’s why Americans welcome Alamar with friendship and open arms.
ANGRY BALD MAN: GO HOME, YOU *@%#! JOB-STEALER!

And here’s the same cartoon, in French! Thanks to Immigration Libre for the translation.

Transcription:

Panel 1.Alamar a immigré en France pour trouver un travail. Alamar est maçon, il travaille dur et est très productif.

Panel 2.Grâce à sa productivité, Alamar procure du travail à ses collègues tel que les routiers, contremaitres et briquetier.

Panel 3.Toutes ces personnes ainsi qu’Alamar dépensent leur argent dans l’économie locale, sur de la nourriture, des places de cinémas, de l’essence ou encore des vétements. Toute cette consommation crée encore plus de travail.

Panel 4.Et c’est pour cette raison que les Français acceuillent Alamar chaleureusement.
Angry Man Chauve: *Rentre chez toi ****** de voleur de boulot!*

Posted in Economic cartoons, Immigration, Labor rights & Unions |

Talking About The Deficit

Cartoon by Barry

Cartoon depicts a woman and her child, sitting on the edge of the curb. The child is sleeping leaning against its mother. In front of them, a homemade cardboard sign reads “Unemployed Hungry.” On the sidewalk behind the pair, two men wearing jackets and ties are arguing back and forth: Deficit! Deficit! Deficit!

Posted in Economic cartoons |

Really Good Careers

Cartoon by Barry

Description of cartoon: The cartoon shows a woman holding a child’s hand, in a fairly dismal-looking city area, standing on a sidewalk at the entrance to a building. Above the entrance is a sign that says “Really Good Careers.” To the right of the entrance, a smaller sign says “An equal opportunity employer.” The entrance is shaped like a male silhouette; it seems apparent that the woman and her child could not fit through the entrance.

This cartoon is also available in black and white.

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions, Sexism & Misogyny |

See Sue Run

Cartoon by Barry

PANEL 1
See Sue
(Illustration of small white girl in pigtails running. This is Sue.)
See Sue run.

PANEL 2
See Sue run to public school.
(Illustration of Sue running towards brick building.)
Go, Sue, go!

PANEL 3
See Sue’s Daddy tkae a child-care tax credit.
(Illustation of Sue’s Daddy in foreground filling out some forms while Sue plays with toys on the floor in the background.)
Maybe Daddy will use it to buy Sue more toys!

PANEL 4
See Sue use federal student loans to attend college.
(Illustration of Sue, now a teenager in a cap and gown, receiving a high school diploma.)
Good going, Sue!

PANEL 5
See Sue lower her taxes with the lifetime learning credit.
(Illustration of Sue putting an envelope into a mailbox. This cartoon is certainly action-packed, isn’t it?)
Clever Sue!

PANEL 6
See Sue get a job.
(Illustration of sue wearing goggles and sawing a piece of wood that’s clamped to two sawhorses.)
See the employer tax exclusion make Sue’s health care cheaper.

PANEL 7
See Sue buy a home.
(Illustration of a small house.)
Sue can afford it because of the mortgage deduction!

PANEL 8
See Sue have a baby.
(Illustration of a baby’s pacifier.)
See Sue take the child-tax credit.

PANEL 9
See Sue save for her kid’s college education with a tax-free education savings account.
(Illustration of Sue, now a bit older, filling out forms.)
Good planning Sue!

PANEL 10
See Sue retire.
(Illustration of Sue, now older with white hair, at a retirement party — there are balloons and cake and a man has his arm around her shoulders.)
Now Sue will collect Social Security!

PANEL 11
See Sue get sick.
(Illustration of Sue in a patient’s gown at a doctor’s office, being spoken to by someone holding a clipboard.)
Good thing Sue has Medicare!

PANEL 12
See Sue Forget About All Of That
(Illustration of Sue, wearing a blazer, angrily speaking.)
Sue: When has the government ever helped me?
Funny Sue!

Posted in Economic cartoons, Health care |

Top Ten Ways Teachers’ Unions Caused The Economic Crisis

Cartoon by Barry

Panel one
TITLE: Top Ten Ways Teacher’s Unions Caused the Economic Crisis (note: the words “teacher’s unions” are in a dripping blood font).
GRINNING DUDE IN SUIT WHO IS WEARING A FAKE HALO: Brought to you by the coalition of completely innocent bankers!

Panel two
BALDING DUDE IN SUIT, WITH PEDANTIC ATTITUDE: Maybe bankers wouldn’t destroy the economy if SOMEBODY had done a better job teaching them addition!

Panel three
DUDE IN SPORTS SHIRT: Two words: SUMMER VACATIONS.

Panel four
GRINNING WOMAN HOLDING BIBLE: If teachers allowed prayer in class and didn’t teach evolution, GOD wouldn’t have FORSAKEN THE ECONOMY!

Panel five
MAN SITTING ON HUGE PILE OF MONEY: Teacher pay sucks MILLIONS from the economy that could otherwise be spent in more PRODUCTIVE sectors of the economy. Like finance!

Panel six
YET ANOTHER BALDING DUDE WITH A NECKTIE, SCREAMING AND GESTURING WILDLY: UNIONS ARE EEEVIILLLL!! BOOGA BOOOGA!

Panel seven
SMILING WOMAN WITH NICE HAIR: When we just GIVE children an education, we kill their instinct for the FREE MARKET! First graders need more skin in the game!

Panel eight
MAN IN KLAN OUTFIT: Teachers unions support DEMOCRATS, democrats support giving MORTGAGES to BLACK PEOPLE, loaning BLACKS money DESTROYS the ECONOMY. Isn’t that obvious?

Panel nine
RICH DUDE STANDING IN FRONT OF MANSION: If unions didn’t lower PRODUCTIVITY, we BANKERS wouldn’t have to sell worthless sub-prime mortgages just to squeak out a meager living!

Panel ten
Image shows two young people, looking angry, and wearing Hogwarts uniforms.
GIRL: After Voldemort killed Lily and James Potter, his NEXT STEP was forming a TEACHERS’ UNION!
BOY: What a louse!

Panel eleven
GRINNING, POWERFUL-LOOKING DUDE IN SUIT: If no one was teaching MATH, we wouldn’t even KNOW there WAS an economic crisis. Problem SOLVED!

Posted in Economic cartoons, Labor rights & Unions |

Government To The Rescue!

Cartoon by Barry

Panel 1: A woman, two small children, and a man dressed like an evil landlord from a silent movie (including curly mustache) are standing atop a precariously balanced wedge of land. The underpinnings of the land have been dug out until they’re basically nonexistent. The woman is yelling in panic, the evil man is grinning and holding a shovel.

WOMAN: SOMEBODY HELP US! This GREEDY BANKER undermined our ECONOMY and it’s about to COLLAPSE!

Panel 2: A male superhero with a “G” in a superman-like chest design flies through the skies, somewhat startling a bird.

SUPERHERO: As the GOVERMENT, I can’t just WATCH this happen… I must TAKE ACTION! TO THE RESCUE!

Panel 3: With a determined expression, the superhero kicks out the remaining foundation, and the two children, the woman, and the evil man go tumbling towards the ground.

Panel 4: The superhero flies through the skies, smiling, carrying the grinning evil man gently in his arms.

EVIL MAN: My hero!

Posted in Economic cartoons |

How Democracy Works

Cartoon by Barry

The cartoon has three panels. Each panel shows a crowd of milling citizens, who vary in sex, race, and age, yelling up to a giant white man wearing a suit and tie. The giant’s head is far distant from the citizens, and he gives no sign of hearing what they’re saying.

PANEL 1
GIANT: I’m PROUD I’ve been elected to represent the great people of this region!
CROWD1: I’ve been unemployed for six months!
CROWD2: How come the banks get help…

PANEL 2
From offpanel, a giant hand hands the giant white man a giant bundle of cash.
GIANT: I promise I’ll — Pardon me a moment. THANKS, Eric.
CROWD1: Medical costs keep going up…
CROWD2: In jail for a joint…

Panel 3
The giant resumes speaking while he pockets the bundle of cash.
GIANT: I PROMISE I’ll ALWAYS listen to the voices of ORDINARY CITIZENS!
CROWD1: Tuition has doubled…
CROWD2: Unemployed for ten months…

CAPTION (Running across the strip, under all three panels): HOW DEMOCRACY WORKS

Quoting a paper by Martin Gilens (pdf link):

Using an original data set of almost 2,000 survey questions on proposed policy changes between 1981 and 2002, I find a moderately strong relationship between what the public wants and what the government does, albeit with a strong bias toward the status quo. But I also find that when Americans with different income levels differ in their policy preferences, actual policy outcomes strongly reflect the preferences of the most affluent but bear little relationship to the preferences of poor or middle income Americans.

In the table above, the dark line represents the opinions of the highest-earning 10% of Americans. The further to the right the dark line goes, the more that top 10% wants a policy change to happen. And the further towards the top the dark line goes, the more likely it is that politicians will make the desired policy change happen. As you can see, the more the top 10% want a change, the more likely it is to happen.

The gray line represents the opinions of the lowest-earning 10% of Americans. As you can see, it’s completely irrelevant what they (er, we?) think. Politicians couldn’t care less. Gilens also has a similar graph showing that politicians barely listen any more to middle-class Americans than they do to poor Americans.

(See also, this essay by political scientist Larry Bartels.)

Posted in Economic cartoons, Elections |