What does America's overclass think of the rest of us? The short answer is "Not much." They think ordinary people's splurging on natural resources is destroying the planet and needs to be cut back forcefully.
These are the implications of the results of two surveys of elite people conducted by pollster Scott Rasmussen by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, an organization that supports low tax rates and low government spending.
One survey, the Elite, included only respondents with postgraduate degrees, household incomes above $150,000 and residents in a ZIP code with more than 10,000 people per square mile.
Half of these groups, 47 percent of Elites and 55 percent of Ivies, say the United States provides people with "Too much individual freedom."
A century and a quarter later, America has rich people hoping to deprive ordinary people of "Conspicuous consumption" activities they can afford and where they clutter up the airports, interstate highways, and high-end malls.
For generations, Democrats have liked to portray themselves as the tribune of the little man, the defender of policies that enable ordinary people without special advantages, or with many disadvantages, to live comfortably, securely, and in dignity.
A 2023 Pew Research survey shows that while 31 percent of Republicans, even with their party out of power, think America "Stands above all other countries in the world," only 9 percent of Democrats do so.
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