It’s no secret: Republicans are committed crusaders for the rights (read: pocketbooks) of the ultra-rich. And despite minor setbacks, their battle on behalf of the 1% has yielded tangible results. The top 1% of Americans took in 21 percent of the national income in 2008, up from 10 percent in 1981, thanks to Republican legislators, a new study finds.

The study published in the October issue of the American Sociological Review, entitled “The Rise of the Super-Rich: Power Resources, Taxes, Financial Markets, and the Dynamics of the Top 1 Percent, 1949 to 2008,” argues that whether the Commander-in-Chief’s necktie is Democrat blue or Republican red, the top 1%, the super-rich, get richer when Republicans have more strength in Congress.

Study co-author Thomas W. Volscho, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at CUNY-College of Staten Island, argues a Republican Congress’ clout comes from its legislating power. Volscho said in a press release:

The president has limited ability to make the sort of legislative changes necessary to affect the top 1 percent without the support of Congress, making Congress the central actor here … We found evidence that congressional shifts to the Republican Party, diminishing union membership, lower top tax rates, and financial asset bubbles in stock and real estate markets played a strong role in the rise of the 1 percent.