New Pew poll: 2/3 say inequality growing, 2/3 want govt action, 54% say tax rich, corporations more

[highplainsdem]

From WaPo's Morning Plum, Greg Sargent's column:

The Morning Plum: A nation of redistributionists and class warriors

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/01/23/the-morning-plum-a-nation-of-redistributionists-and-class-warriors/

With inequality and economic populism expected to be central to Obama’s State of the Union speech and Dem campaigns in the midterms, expect Republicans to argue Dems are wielding a familiar “class warfare” weapon to distract from the failure of the ”Obummer economy.”

But a new Pew poll digs into public opinion on inequality in a way I haven’t seen before, and it suggests Dems are on solid political ground with this focus. Large majorities think the gap between the rich and ”everyone else” has grown (65 percent) and that government should act to reduce that gap (69 percent). This is crucial:

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The key here is that the question does not ask whether we should raise taxes on the rich to pay down the deficit, as many other polls do. Respondents are asked if we should raise taxes on the rich to expand the safety net as a way to reduce poverty, and a majority says Yes — far more than saying the best way to help the poor is by cutting taxes on the job creators.

Independents agree with this by 51-36. Only Republicans favor lowering taxes on the job creators over taxing the rich to expand programs for the poor, by 59-29.

-snip-

From Pew Research's website:

Most See Inequality Growing, but Partisans Differ over Solutions

54% Favor Taxing the Wealthy to Expand Aid to Poor

http://www.people-press.org/2014/01/23/most-see-inequality-growing-but-partisans-differ-over-solutions/

The new national survey by the Pew Research Center and USA TODAY, conducted Jan. 15-19 among 1,504 adults, finds that 65% believe the gap between the rich and everyone else has increased in the last 10 years. This view is shared by majorities across nearly all groups in the public, including 68% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans.

Yet there is a sharp disagreement over whether this gap needs government attention. Among Democrats, 90% say the government should do “a lot” or “some” to reduce the gap between the rich and everyone else, including 62% who say it should do a lot. But only half as many Republicans (45%) think the government should do something about this gap, with just 23% saying it should do a lot. Instead, nearly half of Republicans say the government should do “not much” (15%) or “nothing at all” (33%) about the wealth divide.

The differences are somewhat less stark when it comes to views of government action in reducing poverty: Nearly all Democrats (93%) and large majorities of independents (83%) and Republicans (64%) favor at least some government action. However, more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans say the government should do a lot to reduce poverty (67% vs. 27%).

-snip-

When asked what would do more to reduce poverty, 54% of all Americans say raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations in order to expand programs for the poor. Fewer (35%) believe that lowering taxes on the wealthy to encourage investment and economic growth would be the more effective approach.

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http://www.people-press.org/2014/01/23/most-see-inequality-growing-but-partisans-differ-over-solutions/