The Political Disconnect: Working-Class And Low-Income People On What Politics Means To Them And How They Might Be Mobilized

Abstract

A functioning democratic society must involve all kinds of people in deciding who will hold the power to enact laws and allocate tax dollars. However, working-class and low-income people vote at significantly lower rates than the more privileged in the US, and their participation has been declining in recent elections. In order to understand why those with fewer resources are less likely to vote and how this might change, a diverse group of researchers interviewed 232 low-income and working-class people (in every major racial group) from across Pennsylvania – 144 of whom either did not vote, or voted only occasionally. Our researchers spoke with each interviewee about their lives and communities, the issues they cared about, and their views on politics and voting. This report describes some of the key results of those interviews, and makes recommendations for increasing political participation among low-income and working-class people in the U.S. Almost every nonvoter or irregular voter we spoke with told us that politics seems disconnected from their lives in at least one of two ways. First, many feel like politics are by, for, and about people unlike themselves, people who are wealthier or more educated. Second, many see politics as corrupt and unable to create meaningful change, and believe that politicians are not interested in helping them or their communities. We make three recommendations based both on our interviews and on a broader body of research. 1) People want to believe that politics can meaningfully improve their lives – so they need to see clear connections between the real problems they face and potential and actual solutions in politics and policy. 2) People want to see themselves reflected in politics – so they need more people from low-income and working-class backgrounds working in every aspect of politics and government, at every level. 3) People want to feel genuinely listened to by those who have, or seek, political power – so they need politicians and other political groups to spend more time in low-income and working-class communities