#wealthdistribution — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #wealthdistribution, aggregated by home.social.
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DATE: May 18, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Political loser perceptions alter white American views on wealth distribution
White Americans who feel they are on the losing side of politics are more likely to oppose economic redistribution programs. This effect only appears when people compare their political standing directly to that of racial minorities. The findings were published in the journal Research and Politics.
Economic redistribution involves transferring wealth or income within a society, usually through taxation and social welfare programs. In many developed nations, high levels of income inequality usually lead to increased public demand for these programs. The United States is a notable exception to this trend. The country features high economic inequality, yet public support for government redistribution remains relatively low.
Political scientists have proposed several explanations for this paradox. Some researchers point to American individualism or largely optimistic beliefs about upward mobility. Others suggest that many voters simply lack knowledge about how economic policies actually function.
More recent research looks at social relations rather than individual knowledge. People do not form their economic preferences in a vacuum. They compare themselves to others to figure out where they stand in the social hierarchy.
Sumeyye Mine Iltekin Gocer and Joanne M. Miller, political scientists at the University of Delaware, wanted to test how these social comparisons operate across racial lines. They designed a study to examine how feelings of political loss affect policy preferences among white Americans. The researchers focused on this demographic because white Americans occupy the top of the historical racial hierarchy in the United States.
Populist politicians frequently leverage feelings of decline to mobilize voters. Recent political campaigns have regularly framed white Americans as victims of a system that favors other groups. This kind of language relies on a targeted “loser narrative” to build political momentum.
Prior behavioral studies show that when dominant groups perceive a threat to their social status, they often react defensively. This phenomenon is known as the status threat hypothesis. People who feel their group’s dominance is slipping tend to express more conservative policy positions.
Iltekin Gocer and Miller built on this academic foundation. They wanted to isolate the exact conditions under which feelings of political loss translate into opposition to wealth redistribution.
To test their ideas, the researchers conducted an original survey experiment. They worked with a national polling organization to gather a representative sample of adults living in the United States in late 2019. The responses were weighted to match national census benchmarks for age, sex, education, and geographic location. The final analysis focused specifically on 727 white respondents.
In a survey experiment, researchers randomly assign participants to different groups. Each group answers slightly different versions of the same question. This method allows scientists to determine if subtle changes in wording cause actual shifts in public opinion.
The researchers divided the participants into two groups. The first group was placed in an absolute condition. These respondents were asked to think about the issues that matter to them and state whether white Americans have been winning or losing in politics lately.
The second group was placed in a relative condition. They received a nearly identical prompt, but with one key addition. They were asked if white Americans have been winning or losing in politics compared to racial minorities.
Both groups were then asked to rate their support for two specific types of economic proposals. The first was an index of general economic redistribution. This included questions about government intervention to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
The second policy question was more targeted. It asked if the current government is spending too much or too little to reduce income disparities between white people and racial minorities.
The researchers also asked a series of background questions to use as statistical controls. A control variable allows scientists to ensure that changes in opinion are due to the experiment and not outside factors. They gathered data on the respondents’ age, gender, education, and income levels.
The scientists also measured political ideology, party affiliations, and underlying racial attitudes. Measuring these factors allowed the authors to ensure that any changes in policy preference were not just the result of preexisting political bias or racial prejudice.
The researchers initially suspected that merely feeling like a loser in politics would decrease support for redistribution cross the board. The data told a different story.
Participants who answered the first prompt showed no changes in their economic policy views. Believing that white Americans are broadly losing in politics did not affect their support for or opposition to redistribution. The results were not statistically significant for this group.
The second group yielded substantially different outcomes. When the prompt explicitly asked respondents to compare white Americans to racial minorities, a new pattern emerged.
In this group, white respondents who felt their group was losing in politics became less supportive of both types of economic redistribution. They opposed general public welfare programs and initiatives specifically aimed at reducing racial inequality.
Because the researchers controlled for numerous external variables, the findings are quite robust. The relationship held true regardless of the respondents’ income, employment status, political ideology, or underlying racial beliefs.
The results highlight the power of framing in political messaging. The mere feeling of losing is not enough to shift economic policy preferences toward the conservative end of the spectrum. A person has to feel that they are losing out relative to another specific demographic group.
The researchers suggest that explicitly mentioning racial minorities might make white Americans feel skeptical about government programs. These voters might assume that they will not personally benefit from redistributive policies to the same extent that minority groups do.
This dynamic helps explain why populist leaders frequently rely on group-based rhetoric. Stoking fears of relative decline appears to be a highly effective way to mobilize opposition to egalitarian economic policies.
The study does have some limitations. The experiment focused entirely on economic redistribution attitudes based on a snapshot from 2019. Feelings of political loss might influence public opinion on other issues as well. The researchers hope future experiments will test different policy domains such as healthcare access or education funding.
The exact psychological mechanism at play is also an open question. The current data shows that racialized comparisons reduce support for social welfare. The survey cannot definitively identify the underlying cognitive process that drives this change.
One possibility is that feeling like a loser relative to another group erodes a person’s faith in democratic institutions as a whole. Another possibility is that highlighting racial comparisons triggers protective impulses over access to government resources.
The authors note that future research should explore these specific pathways. Understanding how perceptions of loss operate could help policymakers navigate rising populist movements both domestically and abroad.
If political leaders want to build support for wealth transfer programs, they might need to change their messaging. They will likely have to convince constituents that new economic policies will benefit the majority, rather than fueling perceptions of an unequal system.
The study, “White Americans’ ‘loser’ perceptions and redistributive policy preferences,” was authored by Sumeyye Mine Iltekin Gocer and Joanne M. Miller.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #WhiteAmericans #PoliticalLoss #WealthDistribution #EconomicRedistribution #RacialComparisons #StatusThreat #Populism #RedistributionAttitudes #SocialComparisons #PolicyFraming
-
DATE: May 18, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Political loser perceptions alter white American views on wealth distribution
White Americans who feel they are on the losing side of politics are more likely to oppose economic redistribution programs. This effect only appears when people compare their political standing directly to that of racial minorities. The findings were published in the journal Research and Politics.
Economic redistribution involves transferring wealth or income within a society, usually through taxation and social welfare programs. In many developed nations, high levels of income inequality usually lead to increased public demand for these programs. The United States is a notable exception to this trend. The country features high economic inequality, yet public support for government redistribution remains relatively low.
Political scientists have proposed several explanations for this paradox. Some researchers point to American individualism or largely optimistic beliefs about upward mobility. Others suggest that many voters simply lack knowledge about how economic policies actually function.
More recent research looks at social relations rather than individual knowledge. People do not form their economic preferences in a vacuum. They compare themselves to others to figure out where they stand in the social hierarchy.
Sumeyye Mine Iltekin Gocer and Joanne M. Miller, political scientists at the University of Delaware, wanted to test how these social comparisons operate across racial lines. They designed a study to examine how feelings of political loss affect policy preferences among white Americans. The researchers focused on this demographic because white Americans occupy the top of the historical racial hierarchy in the United States.
Populist politicians frequently leverage feelings of decline to mobilize voters. Recent political campaigns have regularly framed white Americans as victims of a system that favors other groups. This kind of language relies on a targeted “loser narrative” to build political momentum.
Prior behavioral studies show that when dominant groups perceive a threat to their social status, they often react defensively. This phenomenon is known as the status threat hypothesis. People who feel their group’s dominance is slipping tend to express more conservative policy positions.
Iltekin Gocer and Miller built on this academic foundation. They wanted to isolate the exact conditions under which feelings of political loss translate into opposition to wealth redistribution.
To test their ideas, the researchers conducted an original survey experiment. They worked with a national polling organization to gather a representative sample of adults living in the United States in late 2019. The responses were weighted to match national census benchmarks for age, sex, education, and geographic location. The final analysis focused specifically on 727 white respondents.
In a survey experiment, researchers randomly assign participants to different groups. Each group answers slightly different versions of the same question. This method allows scientists to determine if subtle changes in wording cause actual shifts in public opinion.
The researchers divided the participants into two groups. The first group was placed in an absolute condition. These respondents were asked to think about the issues that matter to them and state whether white Americans have been winning or losing in politics lately.
The second group was placed in a relative condition. They received a nearly identical prompt, but with one key addition. They were asked if white Americans have been winning or losing in politics compared to racial minorities.
Both groups were then asked to rate their support for two specific types of economic proposals. The first was an index of general economic redistribution. This included questions about government intervention to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
The second policy question was more targeted. It asked if the current government is spending too much or too little to reduce income disparities between white people and racial minorities.
The researchers also asked a series of background questions to use as statistical controls. A control variable allows scientists to ensure that changes in opinion are due to the experiment and not outside factors. They gathered data on the respondents’ age, gender, education, and income levels.
The scientists also measured political ideology, party affiliations, and underlying racial attitudes. Measuring these factors allowed the authors to ensure that any changes in policy preference were not just the result of preexisting political bias or racial prejudice.
The researchers initially suspected that merely feeling like a loser in politics would decrease support for redistribution cross the board. The data told a different story.
Participants who answered the first prompt showed no changes in their economic policy views. Believing that white Americans are broadly losing in politics did not affect their support for or opposition to redistribution. The results were not statistically significant for this group.
The second group yielded substantially different outcomes. When the prompt explicitly asked respondents to compare white Americans to racial minorities, a new pattern emerged.
In this group, white respondents who felt their group was losing in politics became less supportive of both types of economic redistribution. They opposed general public welfare programs and initiatives specifically aimed at reducing racial inequality.
Because the researchers controlled for numerous external variables, the findings are quite robust. The relationship held true regardless of the respondents’ income, employment status, political ideology, or underlying racial beliefs.
The results highlight the power of framing in political messaging. The mere feeling of losing is not enough to shift economic policy preferences toward the conservative end of the spectrum. A person has to feel that they are losing out relative to another specific demographic group.
The researchers suggest that explicitly mentioning racial minorities might make white Americans feel skeptical about government programs. These voters might assume that they will not personally benefit from redistributive policies to the same extent that minority groups do.
This dynamic helps explain why populist leaders frequently rely on group-based rhetoric. Stoking fears of relative decline appears to be a highly effective way to mobilize opposition to egalitarian economic policies.
The study does have some limitations. The experiment focused entirely on economic redistribution attitudes based on a snapshot from 2019. Feelings of political loss might influence public opinion on other issues as well. The researchers hope future experiments will test different policy domains such as healthcare access or education funding.
The exact psychological mechanism at play is also an open question. The current data shows that racialized comparisons reduce support for social welfare. The survey cannot definitively identify the underlying cognitive process that drives this change.
One possibility is that feeling like a loser relative to another group erodes a person’s faith in democratic institutions as a whole. Another possibility is that highlighting racial comparisons triggers protective impulses over access to government resources.
The authors note that future research should explore these specific pathways. Understanding how perceptions of loss operate could help policymakers navigate rising populist movements both domestically and abroad.
If political leaders want to build support for wealth transfer programs, they might need to change their messaging. They will likely have to convince constituents that new economic policies will benefit the majority, rather than fueling perceptions of an unequal system.
The study, “White Americans’ ‘loser’ perceptions and redistributive policy preferences,” was authored by Sumeyye Mine Iltekin Gocer and Joanne M. Miller.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #WhiteAmericans #PoliticalLoss #WealthDistribution #EconomicRedistribution #RacialComparisons #StatusThreat #Populism #RedistributionAttitudes #SocialComparisons #PolicyFraming
-
DATE: May 18, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Political loser perceptions alter white American views on wealth distribution
White Americans who feel they are on the losing side of politics are more likely to oppose economic redistribution programs. This effect only appears when people compare their political standing directly to that of racial minorities. The findings were published in the journal Research and Politics.
Economic redistribution involves transferring wealth or income within a society, usually through taxation and social welfare programs. In many developed nations, high levels of income inequality usually lead to increased public demand for these programs. The United States is a notable exception to this trend. The country features high economic inequality, yet public support for government redistribution remains relatively low.
Political scientists have proposed several explanations for this paradox. Some researchers point to American individualism or largely optimistic beliefs about upward mobility. Others suggest that many voters simply lack knowledge about how economic policies actually function.
More recent research looks at social relations rather than individual knowledge. People do not form their economic preferences in a vacuum. They compare themselves to others to figure out where they stand in the social hierarchy.
Sumeyye Mine Iltekin Gocer and Joanne M. Miller, political scientists at the University of Delaware, wanted to test how these social comparisons operate across racial lines. They designed a study to examine how feelings of political loss affect policy preferences among white Americans. The researchers focused on this demographic because white Americans occupy the top of the historical racial hierarchy in the United States.
Populist politicians frequently leverage feelings of decline to mobilize voters. Recent political campaigns have regularly framed white Americans as victims of a system that favors other groups. This kind of language relies on a targeted “loser narrative” to build political momentum.
Prior behavioral studies show that when dominant groups perceive a threat to their social status, they often react defensively. This phenomenon is known as the status threat hypothesis. People who feel their group’s dominance is slipping tend to express more conservative policy positions.
Iltekin Gocer and Miller built on this academic foundation. They wanted to isolate the exact conditions under which feelings of political loss translate into opposition to wealth redistribution.
To test their ideas, the researchers conducted an original survey experiment. They worked with a national polling organization to gather a representative sample of adults living in the United States in late 2019. The responses were weighted to match national census benchmarks for age, sex, education, and geographic location. The final analysis focused specifically on 727 white respondents.
In a survey experiment, researchers randomly assign participants to different groups. Each group answers slightly different versions of the same question. This method allows scientists to determine if subtle changes in wording cause actual shifts in public opinion.
The researchers divided the participants into two groups. The first group was placed in an absolute condition. These respondents were asked to think about the issues that matter to them and state whether white Americans have been winning or losing in politics lately.
The second group was placed in a relative condition. They received a nearly identical prompt, but with one key addition. They were asked if white Americans have been winning or losing in politics compared to racial minorities.
Both groups were then asked to rate their support for two specific types of economic proposals. The first was an index of general economic redistribution. This included questions about government intervention to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
The second policy question was more targeted. It asked if the current government is spending too much or too little to reduce income disparities between white people and racial minorities.
The researchers also asked a series of background questions to use as statistical controls. A control variable allows scientists to ensure that changes in opinion are due to the experiment and not outside factors. They gathered data on the respondents’ age, gender, education, and income levels.
The scientists also measured political ideology, party affiliations, and underlying racial attitudes. Measuring these factors allowed the authors to ensure that any changes in policy preference were not just the result of preexisting political bias or racial prejudice.
The researchers initially suspected that merely feeling like a loser in politics would decrease support for redistribution cross the board. The data told a different story.
Participants who answered the first prompt showed no changes in their economic policy views. Believing that white Americans are broadly losing in politics did not affect their support for or opposition to redistribution. The results were not statistically significant for this group.
The second group yielded substantially different outcomes. When the prompt explicitly asked respondents to compare white Americans to racial minorities, a new pattern emerged.
In this group, white respondents who felt their group was losing in politics became less supportive of both types of economic redistribution. They opposed general public welfare programs and initiatives specifically aimed at reducing racial inequality.
Because the researchers controlled for numerous external variables, the findings are quite robust. The relationship held true regardless of the respondents’ income, employment status, political ideology, or underlying racial beliefs.
The results highlight the power of framing in political messaging. The mere feeling of losing is not enough to shift economic policy preferences toward the conservative end of the spectrum. A person has to feel that they are losing out relative to another specific demographic group.
The researchers suggest that explicitly mentioning racial minorities might make white Americans feel skeptical about government programs. These voters might assume that they will not personally benefit from redistributive policies to the same extent that minority groups do.
This dynamic helps explain why populist leaders frequently rely on group-based rhetoric. Stoking fears of relative decline appears to be a highly effective way to mobilize opposition to egalitarian economic policies.
The study does have some limitations. The experiment focused entirely on economic redistribution attitudes based on a snapshot from 2019. Feelings of political loss might influence public opinion on other issues as well. The researchers hope future experiments will test different policy domains such as healthcare access or education funding.
The exact psychological mechanism at play is also an open question. The current data shows that racialized comparisons reduce support for social welfare. The survey cannot definitively identify the underlying cognitive process that drives this change.
One possibility is that feeling like a loser relative to another group erodes a person’s faith in democratic institutions as a whole. Another possibility is that highlighting racial comparisons triggers protective impulses over access to government resources.
The authors note that future research should explore these specific pathways. Understanding how perceptions of loss operate could help policymakers navigate rising populist movements both domestically and abroad.
If political leaders want to build support for wealth transfer programs, they might need to change their messaging. They will likely have to convince constituents that new economic policies will benefit the majority, rather than fueling perceptions of an unequal system.
The study, “White Americans’ ‘loser’ perceptions and redistributive policy preferences,” was authored by Sumeyye Mine Iltekin Gocer and Joanne M. Miller.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #WhiteAmericans #PoliticalLoss #WealthDistribution #EconomicRedistribution #RacialComparisons #StatusThreat #Populism #RedistributionAttitudes #SocialComparisons #PolicyFraming
-
DATE: May 18, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Political loser perceptions alter white American views on wealth distribution
White Americans who feel they are on the losing side of politics are more likely to oppose economic redistribution programs. This effect only appears when people compare their political standing directly to that of racial minorities. The findings were published in the journal Research and Politics.
Economic redistribution involves transferring wealth or income within a society, usually through taxation and social welfare programs. In many developed nations, high levels of income inequality usually lead to increased public demand for these programs. The United States is a notable exception to this trend. The country features high economic inequality, yet public support for government redistribution remains relatively low.
Political scientists have proposed several explanations for this paradox. Some researchers point to American individualism or largely optimistic beliefs about upward mobility. Others suggest that many voters simply lack knowledge about how economic policies actually function.
More recent research looks at social relations rather than individual knowledge. People do not form their economic preferences in a vacuum. They compare themselves to others to figure out where they stand in the social hierarchy.
Sumeyye Mine Iltekin Gocer and Joanne M. Miller, political scientists at the University of Delaware, wanted to test how these social comparisons operate across racial lines. They designed a study to examine how feelings of political loss affect policy preferences among white Americans. The researchers focused on this demographic because white Americans occupy the top of the historical racial hierarchy in the United States.
Populist politicians frequently leverage feelings of decline to mobilize voters. Recent political campaigns have regularly framed white Americans as victims of a system that favors other groups. This kind of language relies on a targeted “loser narrative” to build political momentum.
Prior behavioral studies show that when dominant groups perceive a threat to their social status, they often react defensively. This phenomenon is known as the status threat hypothesis. People who feel their group’s dominance is slipping tend to express more conservative policy positions.
Iltekin Gocer and Miller built on this academic foundation. They wanted to isolate the exact conditions under which feelings of political loss translate into opposition to wealth redistribution.
To test their ideas, the researchers conducted an original survey experiment. They worked with a national polling organization to gather a representative sample of adults living in the United States in late 2019. The responses were weighted to match national census benchmarks for age, sex, education, and geographic location. The final analysis focused specifically on 727 white respondents.
In a survey experiment, researchers randomly assign participants to different groups. Each group answers slightly different versions of the same question. This method allows scientists to determine if subtle changes in wording cause actual shifts in public opinion.
The researchers divided the participants into two groups. The first group was placed in an absolute condition. These respondents were asked to think about the issues that matter to them and state whether white Americans have been winning or losing in politics lately.
The second group was placed in a relative condition. They received a nearly identical prompt, but with one key addition. They were asked if white Americans have been winning or losing in politics compared to racial minorities.
Both groups were then asked to rate their support for two specific types of economic proposals. The first was an index of general economic redistribution. This included questions about government intervention to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
The second policy question was more targeted. It asked if the current government is spending too much or too little to reduce income disparities between white people and racial minorities.
The researchers also asked a series of background questions to use as statistical controls. A control variable allows scientists to ensure that changes in opinion are due to the experiment and not outside factors. They gathered data on the respondents’ age, gender, education, and income levels.
The scientists also measured political ideology, party affiliations, and underlying racial attitudes. Measuring these factors allowed the authors to ensure that any changes in policy preference were not just the result of preexisting political bias or racial prejudice.
The researchers initially suspected that merely feeling like a loser in politics would decrease support for redistribution cross the board. The data told a different story.
Participants who answered the first prompt showed no changes in their economic policy views. Believing that white Americans are broadly losing in politics did not affect their support for or opposition to redistribution. The results were not statistically significant for this group.
The second group yielded substantially different outcomes. When the prompt explicitly asked respondents to compare white Americans to racial minorities, a new pattern emerged.
In this group, white respondents who felt their group was losing in politics became less supportive of both types of economic redistribution. They opposed general public welfare programs and initiatives specifically aimed at reducing racial inequality.
Because the researchers controlled for numerous external variables, the findings are quite robust. The relationship held true regardless of the respondents’ income, employment status, political ideology, or underlying racial beliefs.
The results highlight the power of framing in political messaging. The mere feeling of losing is not enough to shift economic policy preferences toward the conservative end of the spectrum. A person has to feel that they are losing out relative to another specific demographic group.
The researchers suggest that explicitly mentioning racial minorities might make white Americans feel skeptical about government programs. These voters might assume that they will not personally benefit from redistributive policies to the same extent that minority groups do.
This dynamic helps explain why populist leaders frequently rely on group-based rhetoric. Stoking fears of relative decline appears to be a highly effective way to mobilize opposition to egalitarian economic policies.
The study does have some limitations. The experiment focused entirely on economic redistribution attitudes based on a snapshot from 2019. Feelings of political loss might influence public opinion on other issues as well. The researchers hope future experiments will test different policy domains such as healthcare access or education funding.
The exact psychological mechanism at play is also an open question. The current data shows that racialized comparisons reduce support for social welfare. The survey cannot definitively identify the underlying cognitive process that drives this change.
One possibility is that feeling like a loser relative to another group erodes a person’s faith in democratic institutions as a whole. Another possibility is that highlighting racial comparisons triggers protective impulses over access to government resources.
The authors note that future research should explore these specific pathways. Understanding how perceptions of loss operate could help policymakers navigate rising populist movements both domestically and abroad.
If political leaders want to build support for wealth transfer programs, they might need to change their messaging. They will likely have to convince constituents that new economic policies will benefit the majority, rather than fueling perceptions of an unequal system.
The study, “White Americans’ ‘loser’ perceptions and redistributive policy preferences,” was authored by Sumeyye Mine Iltekin Gocer and Joanne M. Miller.
-------------------------------------------------
DAILY EMAIL DIGEST: Email [email protected] -- no subject or message needed.
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #WhiteAmericans #PoliticalLoss #WealthDistribution #EconomicRedistribution #RacialComparisons #StatusThreat #Populism #RedistributionAttitudes #SocialComparisons #PolicyFraming
-
Which age group is the most financially successful?
There’s a reason financial success is such a universal aspiration. Being financially successful gives you freedom, security, and…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Personalfinance #buildwealth #Business #financialsuccess #genz #generation #PersonalFinance #RetirementSavings #wealthdistribution
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/570462/ -
Which age group is the most financially successful?
There’s a reason financial success is such a universal aspiration. Being financially successful gives you freedom, security, and…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Personalfinance #buildwealth #Business #financialsuccess #genz #generation #PersonalFinance #RetirementSavings #wealthdistribution
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/570462/ -
Today, my membership cancellation has been processed by the NSW Branch of the #Labor Party (#NSWLabor). It no longer represents me, nor many thousands of others I’m sure, and has used up all the loyalty and trust I once had invested in it.
From now on my membership fees and any donation I might have made to the Party will be directed elsewhere (not a political party), to where I think will help #Australia get back on track to #SocialDemocracy where the benefits equally flow to all Australians and not just the #ChoosenFew. As for my vote, it will have to earn it back.
#Poverty is a political choice
#HousingAffordability is a political choice
#CivicLiberties are a political choice
#EquityDiversityInclusion are a political choice
#WealthDistribution is a political choice
#CostOfLiving is a political choiceThere is no getting away from #politics nor our civic duty to make sound political choices for all of us living, on this stollen land, on the great #SouthernLand.
-
Today, my membership cancellation has been processed by the NSW Branch of the #Labor Party (#NSWLabor). It no longer represents me, nor many thousands of others I’m sure, and has used up all the loyalty and trust I once had invested in it.
From now on my membership fees and any donation I might have made to the Party will be directed elsewhere (not a political party), to where I think will help #Australia get back on track to #SocialDemocracy where the benefits equally flow to all Australians and not just the #ChoosenFew. As for my vote, it will have to earn it back.
#Poverty is a political choice
#HousingAffordability is a political choice
#CivicLiberties are a political choice
#EquityDiversityInclusion are a political choice
#WealthDistribution is a political choice
#CostOfLiving is a political choiceThere is no getting away from #politics nor our civic duty to make sound political choices for all of us living, on this stollen land, on the great #SouthernLand.
-
Today, my membership cancellation has been processed by the NSW Branch of the #Labor Party (#NSWLabor). It no longer represents me, nor many thousands of others I’m sure, and has used up all the loyalty and trust I once had invested in it.
From now on my membership fees and any donation I might have made to the Party will be directed elsewhere (not a political party), to where I think will help #Australia get back on track to #SocialDemocracy where the benefits equally flow to all Australians and not just the #ChoosenFew. As for my vote, it will have to earn it back.
#Poverty is a political choice
#HousingAffordability is a political choice
#CivicLiberties are a political choice
#EquityDiversityInclusion are a political choice
#WealthDistribution is a political choice
#CostOfLiving is a political choiceThere is no getting away from #politics nor our civic duty to make sound political choices for all of us living, on this stollen land, on the great #SouthernLand.
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Today, my membership cancellation has been processed by the NSW Branch of the #Labor Party (#NSWLabor). It no longer represents me, nor many thousands of others I’m sure, and has used up all the loyalty and trust I once had invested in it.
From now on my membership fees and any donation I might have made to the Party will be directed elsewhere (not a political party), to where I think will help #Australia get back on track to #SocialDemocracy where the benefits equally flow to all Australians and not just the #ChoosenFew. As for my vote, it will have to earn it back.
#Poverty is a political choice
#HousingAffordability is a political choice
#CivicLiberties are a political choice
#EquityDiversityInclusion are a political choice
#WealthDistribution is a political choice
#CostOfLiving is a political choiceThere is no getting away from #politics nor our civic duty to make sound political choices for all of us living, on this stollen land, on the great #SouthernLand.
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Today, my membership cancellation has been processed by the NSW Branch of the #Labor Party (#NSWLabor). It no longer represents me, nor many thousands of others I’m sure, and has used up all the loyalty and trust I once had invested in it.
From now on my membership fees and any donation I might have made to the Party will be directed elsewhere (not a political party), to where I think will help #Australia get back on track to #SocialDemocracy where the benefits equally flow to all Australians and not just the #ChoosenFew. As for my vote, it will have to earn it back.
#Poverty is a political choice
#HousingAffordability is a political choice
#CivicLiberties are a political choice
#EquityDiversityInclusion are a political choice
#WealthDistribution is a political choice
#CostOfLiving is a political choiceThere is no getting away from #politics nor our civic duty to make sound political choices for all of us living, on this stollen land, on the great #SouthernLand.
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https://www.europesays.com/ie/386799/ Are you near the top or bottom of Canada’s retirement wealth pyramid — and does it even matter? #BMOFinancialGroup #Business #Canada #CanadaPensionPlan #CanadianFamilies #CanadianHousehold #Éire #HouseholdNetWorth #IE #Ireland #NetWorth #PersonalFinance #PersonalFinance #Retirement #StatisticsCanada #WealthDistribution
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"Billionaire wealth jumped by over 16 per cent in 2025, three times faster than the past five-year average, to $18.3 trillion – its highest level in history, according to a new Oxfam report today as the World Economic Forum opens in Davos.
Billionaire wealth has increased by 81 per cent since 2020. This comes as one in four people don’t regularly have enough to eat and nearly half the world’s population live in poverty.
The report Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power analyses how the super-rich are securing political power to shape the rules of our economies and societies for their own gain and to the detriment of the rights and freedoms of people around the world.
The surge in billionaire wealth coincides with the US Trump administration pursuing a pro-billionaire agenda. It has slashed taxes for the super-rich, undermined global efforts to tax large corporations, reversed attempts to address monopoly power and contributed to the growth of AI-related stocks that have provided a boon to super-rich investors world-wide.
His presidency has sent a clear warning sign to the rest of the world about the power of the ultra-rich. Rather than solely a US phenomenon Oxfam’s paper demonstrates that rising oligarchy is undermining societies worldwide. Oxfam’s report finds:
- The collective wealth of billionaires last year surged by $2.5 trillion, almost equivalent to the total wealth held by the bottom half of humanity – 4.1 billion people.
- The number of billionaires topped 3,000 last year for the first time, while the richest, Elon Musk, became the first ever to surpass half a trillion dollars.
- Billionaires are 4,000 times more likely to hold political office than ordinary people.
- The $2.5 trillion rise in billionaires’ wealth would be enough to eradicate extreme poverty 26 times over." -
What if we taxed what people spend, not what they earn?
#Business #Economy #Taxation #IncomeTax #TaxReform #ProgressiveTax #ConsumptionTax #Economics #Saving #FinancialSecurity #WealthDistribution #FiscalPolicy #EconomicGrowth #IncomeInequality #The14
https://the-14.com/what-if-we-taxed-what-people-spend-not-what-they-earn/ -
How do Europe's highest earners compare to the wealthy worldwide?
The income gap between the lowest and highest earners remains stark in Europe, despite policy measures to tackle such inequality.
According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 81% of Europeans believe that income gaps are too wide and 78% believe that governments should take more action to reduce them.
#Income #Salaries #Rich #IncomeDistribution #Wealth #WealthDistribution #Inequality #IncomeGapEurope
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How do Europe's highest earners compare to the wealthy worldwide?
The income gap between the lowest and highest earners remains stark in Europe, despite policy measures to tackle such inequality.
According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 81% of Europeans believe that income gaps are too wide and 78% believe that governments should take more action to reduce them.
#Income #Salaries #Rich #IncomeDistribution #Wealth #WealthDistribution #Inequality #IncomeGapEurope
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How do Europe's highest earners compare to the wealthy worldwide?
The income gap between the lowest and highest earners remains stark in Europe, despite policy measures to tackle such inequality.
According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 81% of Europeans believe that income gaps are too wide and 78% believe that governments should take more action to reduce them.
#Income #Salaries #Rich #IncomeDistribution #Wealth #WealthDistribution #Inequality #IncomeGapEurope
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How do Europe's highest earners compare to the wealthy worldwide?
The income gap between the lowest and highest earners remains stark in Europe, despite policy measures to tackle such inequality.
According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 81% of Europeans believe that income gaps are too wide and 78% believe that governments should take more action to reduce them.
#Income #Salaries #Rich #IncomeDistribution #Wealth #WealthDistribution #Inequality #IncomeGapEurope
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How do Europe's highest earners compare to the wealthy worldwide?
The income gap between the lowest and highest earners remains stark in Europe, despite policy measures to tackle such inequality.
According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 81% of Europeans believe that income gaps are too wide and 78% believe that governments should take more action to reduce them.
#Income #Salaries #Rich #IncomeDistribution #Wealth #WealthDistribution #Inequality #IncomeGapEurope
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The real reason why so much money is spent on fossil fuels and weapons manufacturing:
"In discussions of the composition of wealth, a common distinction is made between non-financial assets and financial assets. Within the latter category the uncommon distinction is drawn between ‘capital ownership assets’ (referring to ownership in enterprises) and other financial assets. The reason is that capital ownership assets come with a degree of actual or potential economic power – in the sense of having the capacity to significantly influence enterprises’ policies. The article empirically applies this distinction to 24 OECD countries that report uniform data on this (in line with the OECD guidelines). For the OECD average of these countries around 2019, it is shown that whereas the top 10% of households owns 51% of the total net wealth and 68% of the total financial assets, the top 10% owns 85% of the total capital-ownership assets. For individual OECD countries, the last figure ranges from 63% (Greece) to 97% (Lithuania). The figure for the USA is near to the latter, at 94%."
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"And as a consequence, they set the rules by which the rest of us live…and where it suits them, they violate those rules if only to prove to us that they are different."
#Trump #EconomicElites #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/19 -
"CEOs get geometrically richer while the minimum wage does not rise. The percentage of our wealth controlled by a tiny fraction of people rises while that for which the rest of us must struggle shrinks. A handful of families and kleptocrats control more wealth than the majority of humans on this earth."
#Trump #EconomicElites #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/18 -
"The Epstein case is an example of the degree to which the very rich have been able to carve out roles that while occurring within our society are not of our society. They live above us, exploiting us as they require or desire to but not subject to our laws or moral codes. …
Inequality has exploded in our society."
~ David Rothkopf
#Trump #EconomicElites #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/17https://davidrothkopf.substack.com/p/weve-got-the-epstein-story-all-wrong
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"Many of the emails to and from Epstein are marked by a tone of haughty knowingness, a kind of worldly, smug cynicism I’ve encountered before in people who think that they are smarter than everyone else. Maybe in the haughty world of billionaires and private jets, it is considered provincial to think that adults should not have sex with children. Maybe to them, morality is for the little people."
#Trump #EconomicElites #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/15 -
"There is no evidence that these men participated in Jeffrey Epstein’s habitual sexual abuse of girl children. But their interactions with him suggest a kind of blithe tolerance of his presence in their midst, a seeming comfort in exchanging intimate – and sometimes lewd – exchanges with a man they must have known to have sexually exploited a child."
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/14 -
"But the documents also reveal the stunning breadth of Epstein’s connections among the nation’s elite, including long after his initial 2008 sex crimes conviction, and the extent to which other men in positions of great power considered him a confidant or voice of reason."
~ Moira Donegan
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/13https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/17/jeffrey-epstein-emails-elites
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"The Jeffrey Epstein story makes no sense unless you realize that he was deeply entrenched in the foreign policy elite, a fact that gave him much of the impunity he enjoyed for most of his life. Powerful people felt comfortable around Epstein because he was one of them."
~ Jeet Heer
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/12https://www.thenation.com/article/society/jeffrey-epstein-israel-foreign-policy-elite/
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"Contrast [what Bunch says] to a prominently displayed New York Times feature story that puts a nostalgic gloss on Epstein’s world. Looking back on that world and the people who inhabited it, it carried the headline, Epstein Emails Reveal a Lost New York."
~ Margaret Sullivan
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein #food #prices #beef #coffee #tariffs #HealthInsurance #food #NewYorkTimes
/11https://margaretsullivan.substack.com/p/two-opposing-media-takes-on-epsteins
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"When this perfect storm strikes, an electoral bloodbath in the 2026 midterms is the best outcome Trump can hope for, on a list of dire possibilities."
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein #food #prices #beef #coffee #tariffs #HealthInsurance #food
/10 -
"The timing couldn’t be better, or worse, for this midnight of the elites. The overblown stock market fueled by an AI hallucination is set to burst any moment, and new hiring is already grinding to a halt — just as the price of everything from steak to coffee goes through the roof and health insurance is doubling or tripling for millions of Americans."
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein #food #prices #beef #coffee #tariffs
/9 -
(continued from /7)
"about the much deeper rot that’s already been laid bare about the entire decrepit class of men (because they’re almost all men) who rule the world with atrocious grammar amid a non-stop booty call.
I’m not a financial expert, but if I had disposable cash I’d avoid the hyperinflated AI bubble and invest in a company that manufactures pitchforks."
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/8 -
And as Will Bunch reminds us, the Epstein cover-up is part and parcel of this story of the overweening power and arrogant immunity of the grossly rich:
"I don’t know if the emails, so far, are enough to take down Trump, but the president should be even more worried — and he probably is —" (continued in /8)
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge #Epstein
/7https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/epstein-emails-trump-summers-elites-20251116.html
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"It would be funny if it weren’t so perfectly tragic. The dopey-ist son of a fake billionaire (pre-crypto scams) turned fake president, who likes Gatsby parties and golden toilets, go on oligarch-tv to lecture the struggling masses about how easy it is to move half a billion dollars. While sipping Merlot."
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge
/6 -
"And now, we’ve arrived at the logical conclusion of all this—Eric Trump, the barking embodiment of dumb-son nepotism. A laughable lout with inherited intellectual necrosis and the empathy of a Terminator wrapped in designer smugness."
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge
/5 -
Pointing to Eric Trump as the "patron saint of the stupid rich," Cliff Schechter says,
"Hello Second Gilded Age.
An era where a reality-show President with the wit of a drunken walrus would actually fight in court to starve Americans. Yes, Trump argued in court that food our laws required him to give people—so they don’t die—should be denied. So they do."
#Trump #EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge
/4 -
"First, ignore billionaires when they threaten to take their marbles and go home. The big money always responds to threats of tax hikes, or even mere verbal criticism, by threatening to go all Ayn Rand and move to Galt’s Gulch. In reality, they won’t even move to Florida."
#EconomicElites #Mamdani #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge
/3 -
"Yesterday Arian Campo-Flores of the Wall Street Journal reported that the net worth of the top 0.1% of households in the U.S. reached $23.3 trillion this year, while the bottom 50% hold $4.2 trillion."
~ Heather Cox Richardson
#EconomicElites #wealth #EconomicDisparity #WealthDistribution #SuperRich #GildedAge
/1https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-16-2025-190
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If the total amount of money held by Americans was distributed evenly, how much would you get?
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/economic-equality-ex
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If the total amount of money held by Americans was distributed evenly, how much would you get?
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/economic-equality-ex
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If the total amount of money held by Americans was distributed evenly, how much would you get?
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/economic-equality-ex
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If the total amount of money held by Americans was distributed evenly, how much would you get?
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/economic-equality-ex
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🍪💻 Apparently, the secret to unlocking #economic #prosperity with #AI involves... enabling #JavaScript and #cookies. 🥳 Who knew that the future of wealth distribution was hiding in your browser settings? 🙄
https://openai.com/index/expanding-economic-opportunity-with-ai/ #WealthDistribution #HackerNews #ngated -
Another economist warns about intergenerational wealth in Australia
Why are more economists talking about Australia’s intergenerational wealth challenges? Guy Debelle, a former Reserve Bank deputy governor,…
#Economy #business #GuyDebelle #inheritance #KenHenry #propertyprices #ReserveBankofAustralia #retirementplanning #wealthdistribution #wealthtransfer
https://www.europesays.com/2241300/ -
https://www.europesays.com/uk/261102/ Another economist warns about intergenerational wealth in Australia #Business #Economy #GuyDebelle #inheritance #KenHenry #PropertyPrices #ReserveBankOfAustralia #RetirementPlanning #UK #UnitedKingdom #WealthDistribution #WealthTransfer
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Another economist warns about intergenerational wealth in Australia
Why are more economists talking about Australia’s intergenerational wealth challenges? Guy Debelle, a former Reserve Bank deputy governor,…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Economy #Business #GuyDebelle #inheritance #KenHenry #Propertyprices #ReserveBankofAustralia #retirementplanning #wealthdistribution #wealthtransfer
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/6127/ -
Another economist warns about intergenerational wealth in Australia
Why are more economists talking about Australia’s intergenerational wealth challenges? Guy Debelle, a former Reserve Bank deputy governor,…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Economy #Business #GuyDebelle #inheritance #KenHenry #Propertyprices #ReserveBankofAustralia #retirementplanning #wealthdistribution #wealthtransfer
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/6127/
