About six in 10 Americans believe that money and wealth should be more evenly distributed among a larger percentage of the people in the U.S., while one-third think the current distribution is fair. Although Americans’ attitudes on this topic have fluctuated somewhat over time, the current sentiment is virtually the […] Read more »
The Formula: How the Gini Index came to define how we think about inequality
… The Gini renders what everyone has been talking about for the past couple of years—inequality—in terms of a single, elegant number. … It’s been so useful, so adaptable, that its strange history has survived only as a footnote: the coefficient was developed in 1912 by Corrado Gini, an Italian […] Read more »
Most predict ‘major problems’ if ‘fiscal cliff’ isn’t averted
For months, lawmakers in Washington have warned of the dire consequences of going over the so-called “fiscal cliff” – and the public has been listening. More than nine in 10 Americans expect economic problems if Washington doesn’t avert the “cliff,” according to a new CBS News poll, conducted Dec. 12-16. […] Read more »
Republicans Deemed Too Pro-Rich, 57% in Poll Want Change
A majority of Americans say the Republican Party needs a major overhaul after electoral losses revealed demographic, messaging and technological shortfalls compared with Democrats, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. Even among Republicans, just 16 percent say their party is fine and doesn’t need to change. The survey also shows the party […] Read more »
According to voters, spending cuts are a must
If Washington is looking for guidance on the fiscal cliff, voters are sending mixed signals. A majority says major spending cuts are necessary to solve the country’s budget woes — that solely raising taxes on the wealthy isn’t enough. Even so, the most popular proposal among voters for reducing the […] Read more »
Obama Wins Almost 50% Republicans on Tax Mandate in Poll
President Barack Obama won the public argument over taxes so decisively that almost half of Republicans now say he has an election mandate to raise rates on the rich. Majorities of about 2-to-1 also read the election results as an endorsement of Obama’s pledge to protect Social Security and Medicare […] Read more »