Poll: Americans Believe Wealthy Are Intelligent, Hardworking & … Greedy?
- Posted on August 28, 2012 at 1:58pm by
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[Editor's note: The following is a cross post by Robert Frank that originally appeared on CNBC.com]
The presidential campaign has given us two opposing stereotypes of the wealthy — neither of which reflects the actual views of most American voters.
Republicans say that the rich are hard-working job creators who are admired — and even saluted — by their fellow Americans. They say Americans don’t want to tax success and engage in wealth spreading.
Democrats say the rich didn’t make it on their own, and can be heartless and uncharitable. They say Americans want the rich to pay their fair share and want to shrink the growing wealth gap.
A new poll on wealth from Pew Research, however, reveals that this black-and-white view of the rich doesn’t reflect the shades of gray with which most Americans view the rich.
The Pew poll finds that more 80 percent of self-described middle-class and lower-class Americans say they admire people who get rich by working hard. Four in 10 Americans say the wealthy are more likely to be intelligent (that compares to 8 percent who say they are less likely to be intelligent).
At the same time, 55 percent say the wealthy are more greedy and 34 percent say the wealthy are less likely to be honest (compared to 12 percent who say they are more honest).
A majority of adults (58 percent) say that upper-income people pay too little in federal taxes. One in four (26 percent) say upper-income people pay their fair share in taxes, and 8 percent say they pay too much in taxes.
More than six in 10 Americans (63 percent) say the GOP favors the rich over the middle class and poor, and 71 percent believe the policies of a President Mitt Romney would be good for wealthy people.
When it comes to President Barack Obama, more say his policies will help the poor (60 percent) than say they will help the middle class (50 percent) or the wealthy (37 percent). By contrast, just 31 percent say Romney’s policies would help the poor and 40 percent say they would help the middle class.
There are some critical partisan differences in the data — especially around taxes. More than four in 10 Republicans say upper-income people pay either their fair share of taxes or too much (14 percent). Among Democrats, 78 percent say upper-income people pay too little in taxes, while 13 percent say upper-income people pay their fair share.
Image courtesy Pew Research
A majority of both groups, however, say the middle class pays its fair share.
The poll shows that the upper-income groups are happier, healthier, and doing better financially that most Americans. About four in 10 upper-class adults say they are in better shape now than they were before the recession. That compares with about four in ten middle-class adults who say they are in worse financial shape.
My takeaway from the poll is that Americans generally have a favorable view of how the wealthy got wealthy. But they still want the wealthy to pay more. That‘s a nuance that we’re unlikely to hear from either party this election.
–
RELATED:
- $6 Million Gets You Into the 1% at 40, But Not at 60
- America’s Largest Wealth Gaps
- The Downsizing of the American Butler
- Where the 1% Live
© 2012 CNBC.com, Robert Frank.
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Comments (53)
flatbroke
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 5:50pmI just have to say it There are 2 types of greed, the first is wanting more of something, and wanting a better life, and future for yourself and your family, which i and many others are guilty of. the second type is greed is the evil type which is cant get enough of something, money, sex, power, food even if you have adequete amounts of it. I would like to be a rich person someday to secure a future for myself and my family, and there is nothing wrong with that, so i will be voting for Romney in november.
Report Post »Larry E
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 6:41pmYou don‘t want to be a rich person like Glorious Leader’s friend Soros? He has a different sort of greed in that he wants to destroy economies to enrich himself, while businessmen get rich by trying to provide a product that will help people or give them something they can use while making money and employing others.
Gee I guess I’m voting for Romney too.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 8:16pmThe bad type of greed is the greed of taking someone else’s fruit of their labor. DEMOCRATS are this type of greedy.
Report Post »Shiroi Raion
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 8:26pmI’m not guessing. I’m definitely voting for Romney. My family and I are all registered and waiting for the day.
Report Post »As for the rich, they are no different from us – they are us. Some are greedy, some are honest. Look at Chris Matthews, Hollywood and their ilk… they aren’t necessarily smart and hard working. One thing I‘ve noticed with most of the rich people I’ve met though is extreme arrogance. Then again, these arrogant people flaunting their wealth and telling everyone else that they’re dirt – they stand out in a crowd. I‘m sure I must have met some rich people who didn’t flaunt their wealth and treated people as equals and so I wouldn’t know they were rich.
charjan
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 5:41pmDishonesty will get you to Federal Jail. The rich just take advantage of the providing existing tax laws created to benefit those investing in the economy. What is amazing is the CEO salary/benefit paid to CEO’s and staff that limit the investors profits. Wish some company’s would buck the trend, capping corporate salaries, putting dollars back into company profits, increases to investors and better wages. Who really needs an annual salary greater than Million dollars? The present trend is to reward the CEO/staff handsomely, but cut back on employee salaries and benefits. If there were really a huge segment of the American population with distain for the wealthy, they would not be supporting their products and services. Who’s willing to do without video games, stop going to the movies, stop flying in Airplanes, live without computers and cellphones, buy a Chevrolet instead of a BMW?
Report Post »topperj
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 5:37pmI believe everyone is greedy, in different ways. When it come to money, I don’t believe there are too many people who want less money. When it comes to our kids, we are all greedy. We want more for them, we want the best for them. Those who are called greedy are the ones who provide funding for buildings on college campii, who give more to charity and who do more good with their money than the government could ever hope to do. The better question, is why are so many people envious and jealous of the successful?
Report Post »Centralsville
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 5:21pmDo I think they are more intelligent, some are and some are idiots, a lot like everybody else. Harder working, some are but there are millions of Americans that work hard their whole lives and never get rich. Honest. Some are, but let’s face it, capatilism is a pyramid scheme, the more people you exploit beneath you the higher you are on the pyramid. Some rich people are generous with their money, but many exploit their workers by paying them as low wages as possible and many over charge for their product, especially if it is a product or a service that people have to have to survive. Greedy, that goes without question. The Bible says you can’t love money and God because only one can be your master. If you separate yourself from common people and live in a big house and show off your expensive possessions you have made your decision very clear. I have no bitterness for the wealthy, being a Christian I never set out to be wealthy myself. I much prefer freedom and capatilism over the socialist alternative.
Report Post »elosogrande
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 5:01pmCan someone give me a number? How much money do “rich” people have to give to the rest of us? Who should actually get the money? After all, the government has shown time and again that, if you give the money to them, The Congress and The President will just piss it away. I’m not just talking about current politicians. For the last seventy years, the buffoons in Washington have pissed away more money than they have spent productively.
The Congress of The United States is to blame for every problem this that America has endured, since the forties. It’s not right to force the public, rich or poor, t provide Congress with money that they will use merely to buy votes and get re-elected
Report Post »ExTex
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:56pmI gotta say, Rothbardian is kickin’ a$$ in this segment. I was gonna chime in on his behalf, but I don’t think he needs any help. Good on ya bro, I believe you’ve got this one handled.
Report Post »grayling646
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:12pmDefinition of greed:
A strong desire for more: an overwhelming desire to have more of something such as money than is actually needed.
Based on that definition everyone’s greedy. We all want more than we need. Some people are better at it than others. Some of the people who aren’t very good at it think they have a right to take it form those who are. Those people seem to be winning the fight.
Report Post »yougottabekidding
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 4:22pmGood answer!
Report Post »I like the piece of cake, so I want more — greedy by their reasoning!
Mike Benton
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:05pmI am 71 years old and I have been hearing this bunk since I was old enough to understand what my dad and my uncles were talking about. Both sides have been wrong on all criteria. There are good and bad in both “classes”.
Report Post »But for some reason these days the Obama is talking it up to stir up his base.
grayling646
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:31pm:The more things change, the more they remain… insane.” Michael Fry and T. Lewis
Report Post »term limits for congress
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:04pm100% of the person I asked is sick of all of the obnoxious advertising on this site.
Greedy, Blaze?
Report Post »lembrandt
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:47pmWhat in the name of God has gone wrong in our society that there are a significant percentage of people who think that *they* have the *right* to decide how much money their neighbors can make or keep from what they make?
What kind of a sick puke thinks that he or she has any say at all in what another person deems to be “enough money”?
Who has that kind of mindset? Oh wait, I know…liberal/democrat/progressive/socialist/communist zombies who not only don’t want to have any personal responsibility for their own personal lives, but who want *you* to lose all control over your life, too.
Want to know what a civil war actually looks like? – just wait until Obama is re elected (and he will be – count on it – whether legally or not – it doesn’t make any difference to him or his followers)
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:41pmOne in four is 26%? How many people did they ask?
Report Post »woodyee
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:41pmJust dawned on me –
ANY of you guys out there have an “in” at the RNC convention – text a Conservative and pass the word – Have them ALL cheer “PRESIDENT RYAN!” when he steps up on the stage. If THAT doesn‘t chill Romney’s uncontrollable urge to pacify the McCain wing of the Repubs, nothing will. PASS THE WORD!
Report Post »vox_populi
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:38pm“A majority of adults (58 percent) say that upper-income people pay too little in federal taxes.”
Shhhh, do you hear that? It’s the sound of your right-wing bubble universe popping.
Election day is near, comrades!
Report Post »Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:16pm@Vox,
Come and Take It. I’ll be waiting.
Report Post »Skippy_John_Jones
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 4:15pmThere are lies, there are damned lies, then there are statistics. We all know that one can make stats reflect any position one would like. The fact that you would take this poll (or any poll) at face value and run with it like a dog with a bone indicates that you are exceedingly gullible and quite the useful idiot, indeed.
Report Post »TheEndIsComing
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:35pmIs it any surprise that Americans who live way beyond their means-with abundant credit cards and credit, cell phones, electronics, fake nails and body parts, lattes, cappuccinos, and constantly eating out (obese), think that those that manage their money well are greedy? Sounds like sour grapes for those who refuse to live within their means and didn’t avail themselves to education and business opportunities. Our government is only a reflection of the average American.
It may seem like this problem that our country has can be wished away or fixed easily. That won’t happen. If we want to fix our government we have to fix the average American. Any of you think that is going to happen? I don’t. Are those that live beyond their means going to suddenly cut way back, get a job, and stop taking from the government? Aren’t they entitled to those things?
We are headed for a HUGE fall. And it’s going to make the situation in Greece look like a picnic. Can the average American grow their own food? Or heat their house in the winter without gas or electricity? Or get water out of a well without electricity or relying on city water? No! The current generations are more helpless than any other generation that ever lived.
Report Post »It‘s time to get ready for the chaos that’s coming. It seems that their is only a short time left. Seems like we are going to get a really bumpy ride!
cause_glen_said_so
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:34pmAyn Rand offers both a moral and practical utopia that enshrines rational selfishness, individualism, and laissez-faire capitalism.
Report Post »PhineasJWhoopee
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:31pmDoes that mean that poor people are stupid, lazy and charitable?
Report Post »Charitable with what? The money the government stole from the greedy rich.
Micmac
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:29pmEnvy is a powerful hubris. Many years ago my very successful father-in-law said to me, “Everyone works hard, but when they stop to eat or sleep, you have to keep going.”
Success has a price, and after putting in what it takes to be successful, and therefore, providing jobs to others along the way, they have earned the right to keep their remaining spoils. The speculator gets paid last. But every bell curve has its fringes, and weak polsters like to find them to skew their facts to meet their agenda. Take a poll in Watts and one gets one result…take one in surburbia (which isn’t all white anymore), and you will get a different result. I don’t believe any poll that has subjective demographics.
NoBama > MoBama
Report Post »huey6367
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:23pmThis is a bunch of horse hockey. The job of rich people is to make money. If they make money then they are doing their job well.
Republicans support business because if they support business then the business makes money. The business makes money then it hires more people. It is simple math.
Enough said.
Report Post »woodyee
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:14pmGreedy? It depends on how one defines greed. If the result of your work is $42billion in net worth, that’s not greed, that’s reward.
If the result of your laziness or lack of ambition is a taxpayer funded monthly stipend from Gaybama, and you’ve got the wherewithal to demand more, well, THAT’S GREED…
Report Post »MDDAWG
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:14pmThese kinds of numbers disgust me.
The vast majority of “wealthy” that I know have studied or worked very long hours, or more likely both, to become successful.
This appears to me that the demoncrats are winning the narrative.
Is it fair that the wealthiest 1% pay 21.5% of all federal and state taxes? Or that the top 5% pay 50% of all tax revenue that the federal government receives?
I studied, and worked for many years (16 to be exact) at the poverty level before I gradually moved into the “wealthy” category. Now, I am the “greedy” or the “uncompassionate.”
I can guarantee that I give more cash to charity than 99% of the population.
Report Post »Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:23pmIt doesn’t matter dude. I know what you are saying…you’re right. But there is no fixing it. Ultimately we go belly up. There isn’t enough money to continue the charade. Either the checks stop coming to people or they do come but the prices go up so fast that the checks buy nothing. At that point, the masses will set off to eat the rich. There will be no stopping them. And after weeks or months of that, the government will step in and take total control.
History is a great teacher.
Report Post »MDDAWG
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 7:35pmGood point, Roth.
Report Post »Fortunately, most of the wealthy can and are preparing for that scenario. It is the people who are dependent on government money that are going to be hurt.
JRook
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:12pmYou skipped the dishonest and greedy characteristics in your “take away” Clearly Mitt Romney wears the dishonesty label with pride.
Report Post »Want our country back
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:18pmMitt Romney is VERY generous in his charity donations, VERY GENEROUS. obama gave zero to charity before running and biden gives near ZERO today
Report Post »Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:18pmI’m no fan of Romney…but liar isn‘t a word I’d use to describe him. Care to give examples? Curious who you will be voting for and what their record with the truth is like.
Report Post »doomytram
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:11pmSo by that rational, the Poor are Dumb, Lazy, and Generous. Wrong… The Rich are typically more Generous.
Report Post »cause_glen_said_so
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:10pmDo not kid yourself, we do spread the wealth….upward. In 1980, CEO pay was around 40 times the average worker, today, it is over 300 times
Report Post »Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:20pmSo what would make you feel better? A) passing a law capping CEO pay or B) making as much as a CEO?
Report Post »cause_glen_said_so
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:32pmI do not think either of your choices is satisfactory. I think if his salary, or hers, has increased by that much, there are millions of people who actually enable that by doing what they were hired to do. If the CEO pay increases relative to workers salaries by that much, the workers are not getting what is due to them. Trickle down is a myth and, might I add, VooDoo Econ.
Report Post »Mike Benton
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:11pmNow tell me about sports figures and Hollywood stars. Are they greedy and smart or just lucky. This whole discussion is silly.
Report Post »Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:20pm@Cause,
So how do you intend to fix that? Didn’t Obama already appoint a Pay Czar? (hint: yes) Seems as though Obama didn’t mind Jeff Immelt falling in that bucket when he put him on the jobs council and GE paid no tax.
Here’s a thought. CEO compensation is public record. Research companies of which you buy products. If you feel that the compensation scenario is unfair then don’t buy their products. You can even appeal to others to do the same. It’s dollar voting and it works. YOU have the power to fix it and it doesn’t involve Czars or confiscatory police forces or constitutional infringements. YOU can actually use FREEDOM to fix what you perceive is an injustice. How cool is that?
Report Post »Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:20pmOh one more thing, if you expect me to believe that you wouldn‘t accept CEO pay then you’ve lost all credibility.
Report Post »cause_glen_said_so
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 3:46pmMike
Report Post »It is far from silly. Athletes and actors of course make more than they deserve. BUT, they making it from people willingly paying the price.
Roth
Makes sense but I do not believe it can be done. We have had this going on for decades and no party is innocent. How can things really change when the person who wins an election is almost always the one who spends the most money. Where does that money come from? Fat Cats and Cronys, Citizens United, LOBBYIST , LOBBYIST, LOBBISTS…that is where the change is needed.
And yes…who would turn down money…;)
jacobstroubles
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:10pmlibatards…are such tools
Report Post »Individualism
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:09pmSo if your rich your probably better off in the gop than the democrat party.
Report Post »Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
Posted on August 28, 2012 at 2:26pmHmmmm, wonder why Soros, Immelt, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Corzine, Buffet, Gates, Lynton, Katzenberg, and 90% of Hollywood all are Democrats.
Wanna try again?
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