Article I, Section 9, Clause 8

There is a new book out based on a study of 850 Washington D.C. bureaucrats, What Washington Gets Wrong: The Unelected Officials Who Actually Run the Government and Their Misconceptions about the American People Hardcover by Jennifer Bachner and Benjamin Ginsberg. These weren't elected officials, they were the administrators that inhabit Washington as administrations and elected officials come and go. They aren't the people who propose legislation, they are the people in the background who actually write the laws and the regulations. From the blurb:

Each year unelected federal administrators write thousands of regulations possessing the force of law. What do these civil servants know about the American people whom they ostensibly serve? Not much, according to this enlightening and disturbing study.

The authors surveyed federal agency officials, congressional and White House staffers, and employees of various policy-making organizations about their attitudes toward and knowledge of the public. They found a significant chasm between what official Washington assumes they know about average Americans and the actual opinions and attitudes of American citizens. Even in such basic areas as life circumstances (e.g., income levels, employment, racial makeup) the surveys revealed surprising inaccuracies. And when it comes to policy issues--on such crucial issues as defense, crime, social security, welfare, public education, and the environment--officials' perceptions of the public's knowledge and positions are often wide of the mark. Compounding this ignorance is a pervasive attitude of smug dismissiveness toward the citizenry and little sense of accountability. As a result, bureaucrats tend to follow their own preferences without much reference to the opinions of the public.

The authors conclude with recommendations to narrow the gap between official perceptions of the American public and the actual facts. These include shorter terms, rotation from the Washington beltway to local offices, compulsory training in the responsibilities of public office, and better civic education for ordinary citizens in the realities of government and politics.

I think 850 is too small a sample size but I suspect I agree with much of their analysis.

Some of the findings:

In 2012, federal workers compensation averaged $81,704, or 48 percent more than the private sector average of $54,995, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That puts federal workers in the top 10 percent of American earners.

Nearly 56 percent of congressional and White House staffers, 71 percent of civil service employees and 72 percent in the policy community hold advanced degrees. Among the general population, the figure is 10.6 percent.

In the 2012 presidential election, 97 percent of Congressional and White House staffers voted versus 80 percent of other Americans.

Sixty-two percent of Hill staffers believe election votes are counted fairly “very often” compared with 33 percent of other Americans.

About 90 percent of the inside-the-Beltway staffers are white. The figure for the general population is 78 percent.

Half of congressional and White House employees, 54 percent of civil servants and 57 percent of policy staffers identify as Democrats. The country is 35 percent Democratic, 28 percent Republican and 33 percent unaffiliated.

Government workers say they read the news in print or online more than five times per week. The American average is 3.6 times per week.

The Civil Servants are much more confidence in the fairness of the political process; 62 percent of congressional staffers, 55 percent of federal workers and 49 percent of other Washington policymakers believe that election votes are often counted fairly. By contrast, just a third of the general public says the same.

Only 30 percent of Americans say that government and politics can be understood by people like them; 73 percent of policymakers say the same, as do 100 percent of Hill and White House staffers.

73 percent of government officials think the public knows little or nothing about programs aimed at helping the poor

71 percent of the bureaucrats think the public knows little or nothing about science and technology policy

61 percent of them think the public knows almost nothing about childcare.

Almost no government officials think the public know a great deal about social security, public schools, crime, defense and the environment.

With issues of science and defense,

More than half of officials think they should “always” or “mostly” heed their own opinions rather than take into account public opinion when is comes to science and defense.

42% of officials place their own opinion above public opinion when it comes to crime, welfare and the environment policy.

From Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution.

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.

Bureaucrats don't have a title of nobility but in all other ways they appear to have arrogated to themselves the behaviors and disdain the nobility have for the commoners.