In the first quarter of 2015, 15.8% of Americans reported that in the last 12 months they had struggled to afford food for themselves or their families. This is the lowest percentage measured since the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index started in 2008. CONT. Shawnette Rochelle, Gallup Read more »
Why don’t voters demand more redistribution?
… Opposition to redistribution is partly rooted in the fact that few American voters consider themselves poor or working class, and even fewer understand just how much more money the wealthy have than they themselves do. Yet even if a majority of voters perfectly understood their relative position in the […] Read more »
Inequality Troubles Americans Across Party Lines, Times/CBS Poll Finds
Americans are broadly concerned about inequality of wealth and income despite an economy that has improved by most measures, a sentiment that is already driving the 2016 presidential contest, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll. The poll found that a strong majority say that wealth should be more […] Read more »
Who can get ahead in the U.S.?
The public is divided on the availability of good jobs for American workers. … Beyond the workplace, the poll suggests concerns about opportunities for success and the distribution of wealth, with many thinking both are slanted toward those at the top of the income ladder. CONT. CBS News Read more »
Satisfaction With Federal Poverty Efforts at New Low
Sixteen percent of Americans are satisfied with the work the federal government is doing to address poverty, a new low in Gallup’s 15-year trend. During this time, Americans have never been too satisfied with the government’s efforts on poverty; the high point of 26% satisfaction came the first time it […] Read more »
Sex, Drugs and Poverty in Red and Blue America
In the fall of 1969, Merle Haggard topped the Billboard country charts for four weeks with “Okie from Muskogee,” the song that quickly became the anthem of red America, even before we called it that. “We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee, we don’t take our trips on LSD, we don’t […] Read more »