Abstract
ABSTRACT Rapid growth in America’s economic inequality and endemic disadvantages among racial minorities have deepened fears about unequal political influence. From separate studies, it appears that the government responds more to the wealthy and to whites. But critical questions remain unanswered. What are relative contributions of race and class to government responsiveness? Why do these inequalities exist in the first place? And under what contexts are disparities in responsiveness reduced? To answer these questions, we assess the congruence between individual-level policy preferences and policy outcomes using the General Social Survey. We match individual spending preferences in 11 policy areas with actual federal spending to see whose preferences are realized. We find that race, more regularly than class, shapes government responsiveness. We also find that Democratic Party control eliminates most of the racial bias in responsiveness. Economic growth also narrows racial inequalities.
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