Partisan Polarization Surges in Bush, Obama Years
Americans values and basic beliefs are more polarized along partisan lines than at any point in the past 25 years. Party has now become the single largest fissure in American society, with the values gap between Republicans and Democrats greater than gender, age, race or class divides.
For the Public, It’s Not about Class Warfare, But Fairness
Income inequality has become a major issue in the presidential campaign.
It’s About Fairness, Not Class Warfare
Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut writes in the New York Times while Americans are hearing more and more about class conflict, there is little indication that they are increasingly divided along these lines. Their concerns are about policies that give everyone a fair shot.
Rising Share of Americans See Conflict Between Rich and Poor
A new Pew Research Center survey finds that two-thirds of the public believes there are “very strong” or “strong” conflicts between the rich and the poor — an increase of 19 percentage points since 2009.
No Consensus About Whether Nation Is Divided Into ’Haves’ and ’Have-Nots’
The public is divided on the question of whether the U.S. has become a society of economic ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,” with 52% saying it is incorrect to think of the country this way while 45% say such a division exists.
Wealth Gaps and Perception Gaps: A Paradox of the Great Recession
When the real estate market melted down, those hit hardest by the sharp drop in household wealth were blacks and Hispanics. But even while their wealth was being decimated, the political reaction among the nation’s minorities has been surprisingly muted.
Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics
The lopsided wealth ratios are the largest since the government began publishing such data a quarter century ago and roughly twice the size of the ratios that had prevailed between these three groups for the two decades prior to the Great Recession that ended in 2009.
One Recession, Two Americas
For a narrow majority of Americans (55%), the Great Recession brought a mix of unemployment, missed mortgage or rent payments, shrinking paychecks and shattered household budgets. But for the other 45%, the recession was largely free of such difficulties.
Many Say Coverage of the Poor and Minorities Is Too Negative
Pluralities say that coverage of poor people and Muslims is too negative, while somewhat smaller percentages say the same about coverage of blacks and Hispanics. About a third say that coverage of wealthy people is too positive — the highest percentage for any group tested.
Government Economic Policies Seen as Boon for Banks and Big Business, Not Middle Class or Poor
Partisan groups disagree sharply about many aspects of the government’s anti-recession policies — with two notable exceptions: Large majorities of independents, Republicans and Democrats all say large banks and financial institutions got the most help while few in each group say the policies have done much for the poor.
