This survey is going viral and is absolutely fascinating. For the purposes of this study the elites were described thusly:
- at least one post-graduate degree,
- earning at least $150,000 annually
- living in high-population density areas (more than 10,000 people per square mile in their zip code)
Some of the highlights below but give the whole survey a read, it goes quick.
Only about 20% of all Americans say they believe their finances are getting better now. But among the Elite, that number more than triples to 74% who say they are better off. And among the Ivy League school graduates, 88% say they are better off
Climate change is clearly an obsession of the very rich and highly educated. An astonishing 77% of the Elites –including nearly 90% of the Elites who graduated from the top universities – favor rationing of energy, gas, and meat to combat climate change. Among all Americans, 63% oppose this policy.
When Americans are asked if there is too much or too little freedom, Elites are three times more likely to say that there is too much individual freedom in America than all Americans. Almost six out of ten of the graduates from Elite colleges think there is too much freedom.
Perhaps not surprisingly, at a time when President Biden’s approval rating among voters was in the low 40s, his performance earned approval from 84% of the Elites. That’s a 40% swing.
These people truly have no idea what the life of an average American is like. Fascinating to put some parameters and data to the oft used term "elites" and exactly what they believe.
