Urban elites coming for your SUV and gas stove
Urban elites are far more likely than other Americans to oppose gasoline powered cars, SUVs of all types, and gas stoves, according to a survey released last week by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. The survey defined “elites” as people who have post-graduate degrees, live in households that earn more than $150,000 a year, and live in zip codes with densities of more than 10,000 people per square mile, which is about four times the average urban density in the U.S.
Conducted by Scott Rasmussen, the survey found that 72 percent of these elites (and 81 percent of Ivy League elites) favored banning gasoline-powered cars, compared with 24 percent of Americans as a whole. Further, 58 percent of elites favored banning SUVs compared with 16 percent of Americans and 66 percent of Ivy League elites, while 69 percent of elites (and 80 percent of Ivy League elites) favored banning gas stoves compared with 25 percent of all Americans.
The survey estimates that about 1 percent of Americans fall into its definition of “elites” (and half of those were Ivy Leaguers), but this is a very different 1 percent than the 1 percent who earn the highest incomes. About 20 percent of Americans live in households that earn $150,000 or more a year, but most of those either live in low-density neighborhoods or don’t have post-graduate degrees.
What is it about dense cities that causes people to lose empathy for anyone else? I’ve noted before that people who live in suburbs or rural areas love their lives but don’t think that anyone else should live that way if they don’t want to. However, many people who live in dense cities think their lifestyle is so wonderful that everyone else should be forced to live that way as well.
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I have lived in both and prefer living in the country even if I do have to drive further to buy groceries. I do have a F-150 and my wife drives an SUV. The F-50 gets better gas mileage than the first compact car I had when living in the city.
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