Income inequality has captured America’s economic debate. President Donald Trump, elected with the votes of discontented blue-collar workers, slaps tariffs on allies and adversaries alike in the name of restoring yesterday’s middle-class manufacturing jobs. His 2020 Democratic challengers demand an array of federal initiatives, including higher minimum wages, tax hikes […] Read more »
Government’s Role in Controlling Incomes
This may come as no great surprise, but income matters. As my colleague Megan Brenan recently demonstrated, income is positively related to people’s satisfaction with various life situations Gallup routinely assesses — including not only standard of living and housing, but also such things as the community Americans live in […] Read more »
Majority of Americans support progressive policies such as higher minimum wage, free college
From government-mandated paid maternity leave to tuition-free college, the CNBC All-America Economic Survey reveals a surprising American appetite for some very progressive policies. In a survey of 800 Americans nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, the CNBC survey finds majority support for five […] Read more »
Fixing Inequality: More Opportunity is Not the Answer
Now that the decades of rapidly rising economic inequality have become evident to all, the center of public debate has shifted toward the question of what, if anything, can be done to reverse the trend. … Polls show that most Americans, even many rank-and-file Republicans, dislike growing inequality and endorse, […] Read more »
In Clash Between California and Trump, It’s One America Versus Another
When drivers entered California recently from the borders with Arizona and Nevada, they were greeted with signs welcoming them to an “official sanctuary state” that is home to “felons” and “illegals.” It was a prank, but the message was clear: By entering California, they might as well have been entering […] Read more »
Obamacare repeal still tops GOP voters’ to-do lists
Republican leaders want to move past Obamacare repeal, but most GOP voters aren’t ready to let them do it. According to the latest POLITICO-Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health poll, a key finding shows the Trump administration’s messaging on health care is clearly resonating with the party’s base. CONT. […] Read more »