The wealthy and the poor in U.S. society are not getting along, according to a large majority of Americans. A new Pew Research Center survey revealed that 66% of the public believes there are “very strong” or “strong” conflicts between the upper and lower classes—an increase of 19 points since 2009. This increase was particularly marked among middle class Americans earning between $40,000 and $75,000 a year, with the number growing from 47% to 71% in just two years.

 

Even a majority of Republicans and self-described conservatives say there are strong conflicts between rich and poor. However, Republicans were the only demographic group a majority of whom thought that the rich gained their wealth as a result of “hard work, ambition or education” rather than “because they know the right people or were born into wealthy families.”

 

The rich-poor clash now ranks ahead of other group tension, such as immigrants vs. native born (62%), blacks vs. whites (38%) and young vs. old (34%), according to the poll.

-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Rising Share of Americans See Conflict Between Rich and Poor (by Rich Morin, Pew Research Center)

U.S. Leads Developed World…in Income Inequality (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)