Despite Barack Obama waging a class warfare campaign over the last 4 years, Gallup finds that majorities, Democratic, Republican and Independent, feel that America benefits from having a "rich class." 80 percent of Republicans feel that way, 52 percent of Democrats and 59 percent of Independents.
Politico:
Even as the president has called on the rich to pay their “fair share” in taxes, the Occupy Wall Street protests, and amid a public debate over the so-called Buffett rule, American views of the rich have not changed significantly in over 20 years.In 1990, 62 percent thought that the U.S. was better off with a rich class of people, compared with 32 percent who disagreed.
Barack Obama harps quite often on "fairness" when he speaks to taxing the rich more than they are paying now, in other words wealth distribution". Taking from those that have to give to those that do not have.
Gallup has consistently found that wealth distribution is favored by Democrats who are the only group with a majority that feels redistributing wealth by heavily taxing the rich is something that should be done. 71 percent of Democrats was the figure in Gallup's June 2011 report.
Republicans and Independents both show a majority believes the opposite. 60 percent of Republicans are against wealth redistribution by taxation and 53 percent of Independents hold that same view.
Yet take out the unpopular words "wealth distribution" and replace it with Obama's "Buffet Rule", those numbers change. Despite that, Gallup finds that it is "not Americans' highest priority."
....Gallup's April measure of the most important problem facing the country shows that Americans cite the economy, jobs, dissatisfaction with government, and the deficit as the top problems, while very few (1%) mention the gap between the rich and the poor as the top problem. Previous Gallup research has also shown that Americans rate reducing the income and wealth gap between the rich and the poor as a lower priority than growing the economy more generally and increasing economic opportunity.
Another Obama talking point bites the dust.
