another poll on issues: inequality

[dougrhess]

Campbell Public Affairs Institute
The Maxwell School of Syracuse University
http://poll.campbellinstitute.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2004

Contact:  Jill Leonhardt
jlleonha@maxwell.syr.edu
315-443-5492

CONCERN ABOUT INEQUALITY JUMPS DRAMATICALLY, NEW POLL SHOWS:
Kerry Voters Most Likely to View Nation as Divided Between the Haves and
Have-Nots

While the presidential election campaign has been dominated by Iraq and the
war on terror, fundamental domestic issues of inequality and the role of
government still play a major role in voter choice.  These results emerged
from a nationwide survey conducted by the Maxwell School of Syracuse
University during the last week.

A large percentage of respondents believe that inequality is an increasing
problem in America.  A substantial majority also agrees that we are becoming
a society of haves and have-nots, and that opportunities to succeed are not
widespread. Notably, there is a significant difference of opinion between
those who support George Bush and those who support John Kerry in the
presidential race.

The proportion of Americans who believe that the United States is becoming a
society of haves and have-nots is much higher today than in four other polls
conducted over the past 20 years.

Detailed poll results are available at http://poll.campbellinstitute.org.

These results are drawn from the Campbell Institute Poll on Citizenship and
Inequality, which was conducted on October 9-19, 2004.  A nation-wide
survey, the poll asked respondents questions about their engagement in
political affairs and other aspects of civic life, as well as their views on
social and economic inequality in the United States. Further analysis based
on the results from this survey will be released by the Campbell Institute
over the next three months, posted at http://poll.campbellinstitute.org

The Campbell Public Affairs Institute is a research center of the Maxwell
School of Syracuse University.  Its aim is to promote better understanding
of contemporary challenges in democratic governance.

Campbell Public Affairs Institute
The Maxwell School of Syracuse University
306 Eggers Hall
Syracuse, NY 13244
http://www.campbellinstitute.org

[agcatter]

Eliminate the haves and have nots?  It's been tried.  It's called Marxism.  It doesn't work.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Glad to see someone is paying attention to this issue.  Inequality has risen drastically under Bush, squandering any gains in productivity our economy has achieved in the past two years.  It is the reason that unemployment is low while public optimism and opinion about the economy is also very low. 

The level of inequality is the US right now is absolutely inexcusable for a modern industrialized nation.  This is something John Edwards centered his campaign around, and the main reason why I supported him.  It's a pity John Kerry can't be a more effective advocate on this issue.

[agcatter]

Oh yeah.  The two Americas speech.  Very pretty.

A lot of you guys would love the European welfare state.  They really work on that inequality.  Tax the hell out of everyone and then redistribute it in the form of pensions and goodies.

Of course, nobody has any incentive to produce anything and their growth has been stagnant compared to ours.  But everyone is equal.  No thanks.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

A lot of you guys would love the European welfare state.  They really work on that inequality.  Tax the hell out of everyone and then redistribute it in the form of pensions and goodies.

ding!

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Oh yeah.  The two Americas speech.  Very pretty.

A lot of you guys would love the European welfare state.  They really work on that inequality.  Tax the hell out of everyone and then redistribute it in the form of pensions and goodies.

Of course, nobody has any incentive to produce anything and their growth has been stagnant compared to ours.  But everyone is equal.  No thanks.

I think a lot of the sluggishness in the European economy has to do with the regulation of businesses in ways that has little to do with income distribution.  If I were setting policy, I would encourage business to be as efficient as possible, but have high taxes on personal wealth. 

For instance, some European countries require businesses to pay workers their full salary for a full year after they are fired.  This discourages businesses from making hiring and firing decisions that would be efficient to their productivity.  But I would have the government provide generous unemployment benefits to workers in this situation, and not put the burden on the individual firm on a case-by-case basis.  This would provide the same level of protection for workers, while still allowing business flexibility.

[dougrhess]

Eliminate the haves and have nots?  It's been tried.  It's called Marxism.  It doesn't work.

Or encouraging a large and growing middle class....

[dougrhess]

Glad to see someone is paying attention to this issue.  Inequality has risen drastically under Bush, squandering any gains in productivity our economy has achieved in the past two years.  It is the reason that unemployment is low while public optimism and opinion about the economy is also very low. 

The level of inequality is the US right now is absolutely inexcusable for a modern industrialized nation.  This is something John Edwards centered his campaign around, and the main reason why I supported him.  It's a pity John Kerry can't be a more effective advocate on this issue.

Inequality also grew under Clinton.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Glad to see someone is paying attention to this issue.  Inequality has risen drastically under Bush, squandering any gains in productivity our economy has achieved in the past two years.  It is the reason that unemployment is low while public optimism and opinion about the economy is also very low. 

The level of inequality is the US right now is absolutely inexcusable for a modern industrialized nation.  This is something John Edwards centered his campaign around, and the main reason why I supported him.  It's a pity John Kerry can't be a more effective advocate on this issue.

Inequality also grew under Clinton.

I believe that's true...I'm not a big fan of Clinton, at least after 1994.

[dougrhess]

Oh yeah.  The two Americas speech.  Very pretty.

A lot of you guys would love the European welfare state.  They really work on that inequality.  Tax the hell out of everyone and then redistribute it in the form of pensions and goodies.

Of course, nobody has any incentive to produce anything and their growth has been stagnant compared to ours.  But everyone is equal.  No thanks.

Actually, in the periods following deregulation of markets and reductions in the "welfare state" productivity in the United States slowed. There have been periods of productivity gains in some nations that outpaced the US in the past several decades even though those nations never cut back to US levels and we never approached their levels.

[dougrhess]

Glad to see someone is paying attention to this issue.  Inequality has risen drastically under Bush, squandering any gains in productivity our economy has achieved in the past two years.  It is the reason that unemployment is low while public optimism and opinion about the economy is also very low. 

The level of inequality is the US right now is absolutely inexcusable for a modern industrialized nation.  This is something John Edwards centered his campaign around, and the main reason why I supported him.  It's a pity John Kerry can't be a more effective advocate on this issue.

Inequality also grew under Clinton.

I believe that's true...I'm not a big fan of Clinton, at least after 1994.

It's very true!