Over 8 in 10 Americans believe politicians don't care about people
Article continues below
As part of a long-term trend, the last time alienation was measured was in November 2014, when we saw an all-time high in the Alienation Index.
78%
of all adults believe the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
Almost every year since 1966, The Harris Poll has measured how alienated Americans feel and then calculated an Alienation Index based on the results.
The questions measure how much, or how little, people feel their interests are heard and addressed by those with power and influence.
68%
believe that what they think doesn't count very much anymore.
The Index is based on replies to five questions, most of which show positive differences from two years ago.
82% believe that the people running the country don't really care what happens to you, down from 85% in 2014 but still higher than 73% in 2011 and 50% in 2010.
78% of all adults believe the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, compared to 81% in 2014, 80% in 2013, and 73% in 2011.
70% believe that most people in power try to take advantage of people like them, compared to 71% in 2014, 69% the year before, and 63% in 2011.
68% believe that what they think doesn't count very much anymore, which hasn't changed since 2014 and remains higher than 61% in 2013 and 66% in 2011.
40% believe that they are left out of things going on around them, compared to 42% two years ago, 38% in 2013, and 41% in 2011.
As Obama comes to the end of his time in office, there is a shift in the feeling of alienation by political party affiliation. Adults who identify as Republican feel the most alienated, followed by Independents and then Democrats.
In 2014, however, Democrats felt more isolated than Republicans, while Independents felt the most isolated of the three.
Those with a college degree feel less isolated than those with some college or a high school education or less, a trend we have seen since at least 2013.
Furthermore, there seems to be a difference in alienation by age. Adults age 45-54 have an Alienation Index of 72 and adults age 55-64 have an index of 73, significantly higher than those 18-34 (69), 35-44 (70), and 65+ (67). There is no distinctive difference by gender. ■