This week’s readings from “The Cash Ceiling,” written by Nicholas Carnes, reflect on critical issues related to inequality of the citizens in terms of political matters. The first chapter narrates about the gap between the white-collar government and the American working class in this aspect, claiming that the latter never held office. According to the author, the reason for this problem is their inactivity deriving from the surprisingly passive attitude towards this type of societal activity. This situation adversely affects democracy in the United States and, consequently, public policy. It makes the measures taken inappropriate for the resolution of actual issues.
The third chapter expands on the factors influencing the neglect of politics by workers. It states that they include the lack of free time resulting from their occupations’ specificities as well as the failure of political leaders to encourage this category of citizens to participate. Therefore, the explicit orientation on monetary rewards harms the representation of these people in the government as opposed to the popular belief in their prevailing unwillingness to act. In addition, the fourth chapter presents the perspective of the author on the challenge of the elections process, which implies the change of politicians by the people within their networks. It means that the distrust of blue-collar workers in this field, complemented by the difficulties of promotion, limits their involvement. In this way, these sources add to the description of the overall inequality from the previous weeks.