UCLA Luskin’s Martin Gilens was a guest on the UC Institute of Global Conflict and Cooperation’s “Talking Policy” podcast on the role of money in U.S. elections. Gilens, a professor of public policy, social welfare and political science, and the author of “Democracy in America? What Has Gone Wrong and What We Can Do About It,” addressed how Americans feel about the current political system. “People are just … very unhappy with the state of our politics. They think the parties would rather fight against each other than work together to address America’s problems,” Gilens said. “And frankly, they’re right about that.” Gilens said Americans are extremely disillusioned, which is not new. “Our policy has, in many dimensions — whether it’s regulation, taxation and so on — shifted in ways that are beneficial to business and to owners and to the rich, and harmful to the middle class and to the poor.”