The Cash Ceiling: Why Only the Rich Ones Run for Office— And What we Can Do about It

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By Nicholas Carnes *11

Published Sept. 5, 2018

The Cash Ceiling (Princeton University Press), as Nicholas Carnes *11 calls it, keeps working-class Americans from running for political office, but it doesn't have to. He argues that programs to recruit and support working-class citizens could increase economic diversity in our government and make it more representative.

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PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
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On the cover: Wilton Virgo ’00 and his classmates celebrate during the P-rade.