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Poll: Majority of Americans Want Government to Reduce Income Gap

mbig

mbig

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Which is one reason I suppose so many favor a healthy increase in the minimum wage or a 'living wage'.
Why not give people the self-respect of Making their money, rather than making little and needing food stamps or charity.

Poll: Majority of Americans want government to reduce income gap – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs
CNN Political Unit
February 5th, 2014

(CNN) – A majority of Americans surveyed believe the government should work to reduce the income gap between rich and the poor, according to a new national poll.

A CNN/ORC International survey released Wednesday indicates more than 6 in 10 Americans strongly or somewhat agree that the government should work to narrow that gap, compared to 30% who believe it should not.

"That sentiment may put Republicans in a difficult position, because nearly 7 in 10 of those surveyed believe GOP policies favor the rich compared to the 30% of respondents who said Democratic policies benefit the wealthy," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. The results come after President Barack Obama made a major push in his State of the Union address last week for policies curbing income inequality. The White House has billed 2014 as a 'Year of Action' and efforts to stem the widening gap between the rich and poor has become a cornerstone of the administration's agenda.

Opinion on the income gap appears to have changed little since the Reagan era. In 1983, 68% of Americans favored government action to narrow the divide. Today, that number stands at 66%."..."

Most Republicans oppose such measures, and 9 in 10 Democrats favor them. Among independents, 2/3 believe the government should work to reduce the income gap.

Higher income earners agree. 57% of Americans who earn more than $100,000 a year said the government should help decrease the income inequality.

There is a gender gap on this issue as well, with women, at 70%, slightly more likely to favor measures to reduce the gap than men, at 62%
[.......]
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Interesting/Striking too, an older poll:

Study: Most Americans want wealth distribution similar to Sweden | The Raw Story
By Daniel Tencer
Sept 25, 2010
92% prefer Swedish model to US model when given a choice

Americans generally underestimate the degree of income inequality in the United States, and if given a choice, would distribute wealth in a similar way to the social democracies of Scandinavia, a new study finds.

For decades, polls have shown that a plurality of Americans — around 40% — consider themselves conservative, while only around 20% self-identify as liberals. But a new study from two noted economists casts doubt on what values lie beneath those political labels.

According to research (PDF) carried out by Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School and Dan Ariely of Duke University, and flagged by Paul Kedrosky at the Infectious Greed blog, 92% of Americans would choose to live in a society with far less income disparity than the US, choosing Sweden’s model over that of the US.

What’s more, the study’s authors say that this applies to people of all income levels and all political leanings: The poor and the rich, Democrats and Republicans are all equally likely to choose the Swedish model.

But the study also found that respondents preferred Sweden’s model over a model of perfect income equality for everyone, “suggesting that Americans prefer some inequality to perfect equality, but not to the degree currently present in the United States,” the authors state.

Recent analyses have shown that income inequality in the US has grown steadily for the past three decades and reached its highest level on record.."..."
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I'd be shocked to learn that 92% of Americans would even be able to articulate what the "Swedish model" is.
 
We've let government be used to widen the gap for so long, it's time for a change. Incredible benefits for a few wealthy people is what happens when you let government be sold the highest bidder.
 
Paschendale said:
We've let government be used to widen the gap for so long, it's time for a change. Incredible benefits for a few wealthy people is what happens when you let government be sold the highest bidder.
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Yes. I agree. If you want people off of assistance from the government than why not let businesses start earning those tax cuts and pay a more livable wage. :thumbs:
 
What's Ironic, is that's what Americans have favored since Reagan, but What DID Reagan give them?

We have Reversed somewhat the Class Warfare Viciously Waged and won by Ronald Reagan-omics.
Who lowered top marginal income tax rates from 70% in 1980 to 28% in 1988.
Including
Tax Reform Act of 1986 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The top tax rate was lowered from 50% to 28% while the bottom rate was raised from 11% to 15%. Many lower level tax brackets were consolidated, and the upper income level of the bottom rate (married filing jointly) was increased from $5,720/year to $29,750/year. This package ultimately consolidated tax brackets from fifteen levels of income to four levels of income.[1] This would be the Only time in the history of the U.S. income tax (which dates back to the passage of the Revenue Act of 1862) that the top rate was reduced and the bottom rate increased concomitantly. In addition, capital gains faced the same tax rate as ordinary income. [.....]​

We have just also made a small reversal (for the rich) in the Bush II Cap Gains/Divs Tax near Halving from 28% to 15%.
 
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mbig said:
Which is one reason I suppose so many favor a healthy increase in the minimum wage or a 'living wage'.
Why not give people the self-respect of Making their money, rather than making little and needing food stamps or charity.

Poll: Majority of Americans want government to reduce income gap – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs
CNN Political Unit
February 5th, 2014



Interesting/Striking too, an older poll:

Study: Most Americans want wealth distribution similar to Sweden | The Raw Story
By Daniel Tencer
Sept 25, 2010
92% prefer Swedish model to US model when given a choice
Click to expand...

Why not start with the idea of closing the income gap by having poor people do something of higher value so that people who have money will give it to them voluntarily?
 
mbig said:
Which is one reason I suppose so many favor a healthy increase in the minimum wage or a 'living wage'.
Why not give people the self-respect of Making their money, rather than making little and needing food stamps or charity.

Poll: Majority of Americans want government to reduce income gap – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs
CNN Political Unit
February 5th, 2014



Interesting/Striking too, an older poll:

Study: Most Americans want wealth distribution similar to Sweden | The Raw Story
By Daniel Tencer
Sept 25, 2010
92% prefer Swedish model to US model when given a choice
Click to expand...

There are lots of things people want. It is the consequences that are not always so nice though.

When I looked at the German vs US numbers I found the Germans had a much lower Gini showing a smaller difference incomes, but found that not only did the lowest income quartile in the US and Germany have the same buying power after taxes and transfers . Every higher quintile had less buying power in Germany. The USA had, in other words, done as well for the poor as a country that tried hard and the equality in Germany resulted from everyone else's doing less well. Now that doesn't mean that this is causal nor that it is impossible to reduce income inequality. But it does indicate that European type redistribution is not the panacea that many would have it.
 
FederalRepublic said:
Why not start with the idea of closing the income gap by having poor people do something of higher value so that people who have money will give it to them voluntarily?
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I'm all for that!
What do YOU suggest?
Of course, we have Exported many of their previous decent paying jobs overseas with Globalization, so that someone who ie, made a good blue collar living 40 years ago, now scrapes [Not] by at Walmart (or hotel desk clerk) on the tiniest salary imaginable.

The remedy then to "start with" is invariably a societal/governmental one to better equalize incomes from the actual available jobs.
Sure, in the longer term, lets make everyone a computer engineer or thoracic surgeon.
 
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FederalRepublic said:
Why not start with the idea of closing the income gap by having poor people do something of higher value so that people who have money will give it to them voluntarily?
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Because voluntarily paying more flies in the face of conventional wisdom concerning profitability.
 
mbig said:
I'm all for that!
What do YOU suggest?
Of course, we have Exported many of their previous decent paying jobs overseas with Globalization, so that someone who ie, made a good blue collar living 40 years ago, now scrapes [Not] by at Walmart (or hotel desk clerk) on the tiniest salary imaginable.

The remedy then to "start with" is invariably a societal/governmental one to better equalize incomes from the actual available jobs.
Sure, in the longer term, lets make everyone a computer engineer or thoracic surgeon.
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I suggest NOT giving a subsidy or mandated price control to make jobs pay more than they're worth. A hotel desk clerk needs to make more money. Fine. Be something other than a hotel desk clerk.
 
mbig said:
Which is one reason I suppose so many favor a healthy increase in the minimum wage or a 'living wage'.
Why not give people the self-respect of Making their money, rather than making little and needing food stamps or charity.

Poll: Majority of Americans want government to reduce income gap – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs
CNN Political Unit
February 5th, 2014



Interesting/Striking too, an older poll:

Study: Most Americans want wealth distribution similar to Sweden | The Raw Story
By Daniel Tencer
Sept 25, 2010
92% prefer Swedish model to US model when given a choice
Click to expand...
You honestly believe that raising the minimum wage a couple of bucks will actually do anything to close the income gap? Its a meaningless gesture if that is your goal.
 
KevinKohler said:
Because voluntarily paying more flies in the face of conventional wisdom concerning profitability.
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No it doesn't. Everybody pays more for some things and services than they do others. It's because they are more valuable to them.
 
FederalRepublic said:
No it doesn't. Everybody pays more for some things and services than they do others. It's because they are more valuable to them.
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And when there are 200+ applicants per EVERY available job, the value is reduced.

Supply.
 
KevinKohler said:
I'd be shocked to learn that 92% of Americans would even be able to articulate what the "Swedish model" is.
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I'd be shocked if 92% had heard of Swedish meatballs, As a matter of fact if 92% of Americans had heard of Sweden it would be a suprise
 
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KevinKohler said:
And when there are 200+ applicants per EVERY available job, the value is reduced.

Supply.
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True. So we have a problem with the supply of jobs, and you want to raise the cost of hiring. That's logical.

...and there are not 200+ applicants for EVERY available job. I've seen advertised jobs go unfilled for months.
 
KevinKohler said:
And when there are 200+ applicants per EVERY available job, the value is reduced.

Supply.
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You know, even if there were 200+ applicants for every available job, there would still be something more productive for you to do than whatever it was you were doing at the time.
 
Bob N said:
Yes. I agree. If you want people off of assistance from the government than why not let businesses start earning those tax cuts and pay a more livable wage. :thumbs:
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And stop spending so much of our budget subsidizing profitable corporations. All that spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is going into the pockets of private industry. One the hallmarks of Medicare part D was that the government wasn't allowed to negotiate prices with drug companies and had to simply take whatever (hugely inflated) price they set. Simply allowing the government to negotiate with the companies it deals with would make a huge difference. And then there's all of the subsidies and tax breaks we give to large corporations that are profitable even without those things. That's what's widening the gap. The middle class pays taxes and the owners of rich corporations get to pocket them.
 
FederalRepublic said:
True. So we have a problem with the supply of jobs, and you want to raise the cost of hiring. That's logical.

...and there are not 200+ applicants for EVERY available job. I've seen advertised jobs go unfilled for months.
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I've seen job postings stay up for years, despite already being filled. Welcome to the digital age.

As for increasing the cost of hiring, for most minimum wage positions for most companies, the wage itself is only about half the cost of hiring.

Imagine how much we could reduce taxes when many workers no longer require subsidization?
 
FederalRepublic said:
You know, even if there were 200+ applicants for every available job, there would still be something more productive for you to do than whatever it was you were doing at the time.
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Productive =\= lucrative.
 
I don't work...so I don't give a rat's ass about the rest of y'all. I think the government should tax anyone earning $100K or more at a rate of about 50%. Then, the government should pay everyone who earns under $50K what ever it'll take to get them to that level. And if the government can't get enough money from those taxes, they should just increase borrowing till they get it.

:roll:
 
mbig said:
Which is one reason I suppose so many favor a healthy increase in the minimum wage or a 'living wage'.
Why not give people the self-respect of Making their money, rather than making little and needing food stamps or charity.

Poll: Majority of Americans want government to reduce income gap – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs
CNN Political Unit
February 5th, 2014



Interesting/Striking too, an older poll:

Study: Most Americans want wealth distribution similar to Sweden | The Raw Story
By Daniel Tencer
Sept 25, 2010
92% prefer Swedish model to US model when given a choice
Click to expand...

I find this highly suspect.

The man is an associate professor of business. He has no PhD whose works include promoting the meme of income equality

Norton, Michael I., David T. Neal, Cassandra L. Govan, Dan Ariely, and Elise Holland. "The Not-So-Commonwealth of Australia: Evidence for a Cross-Cultural Desire for a More Equal Distribution of Wealth." Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (forthcoming).
V=http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=326229&facInfo=pub
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Note that he is a contributing author and has never authored his own work.

I suspect Mr. Norton has an agenda.

Its always wise to go to the source.

And, with the amount of money, time, speech making and whining Obama has thrown at this 1930's "progressive" meme, it would be a surprise if there was not recognition...

I highy
 
KevinKohler said:
I've seen job postings stay up for years, despite already being filled. Welcome to the digital age.

As for increasing the cost of hiring, for most minimum wage positions for most companies, the wage itself is only about half the cost of hiring.

Imagine how much we could reduce taxes when many workers no longer require subsidization?
Click to expand...

Think how much longer workers will continue doing something of little value when we pay them more to do it.
 
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