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60 Minutes/Vanity Fair PollInequalityJune 5-9, 2015Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “All men are created equal”. Do you believe this statement is true or false?Most Americans agree that all men are created equal.Thomas Jefferson wrote that it was “self-evident” that all men were created equal, and most Americans agree. 76% of Americans think this phrase penned by Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence is true. 77% of women agree with 75% of men that “all men are created equal”.Most black Americans also agree, though they are a little more skeptical than white Americans when they assess this declaration of equality penned by a man who himself owned black slaves. While 78% of whites think this phrase is true, this percentage drops 66% of blacks.All Men Are Created EqualTotalMenWomenWhitesBlacksTrue76%75%77%78%66%False2222212033Which one of the following statements comes closest to your view? Inequality is helpful because it gives people ambition, or Inequality is harmful because it deprives people of hope.Some Americans think inequality isn’t such a bad thing after all.Inequality may have some merit to it, at least according to many Americans. Although 49% of Americans think inequality is harmful because it deprives people of hope, a sizeable minority – 40% - think inequality is instead helpful because it gives people ambition. Republicans tend to think inequality is more helpful (50%) than harmful (40%), while most Democrats think inequality is harmful (53%). Inequality: Helpful or Harmful?TotalRepsDemsIndsHelpful40%50%38%37%Harmful49405350In which country would you say inequality is the greatest – Denmark, the United States, Germany, Japan, or Saudi Arabia?Some lower income Americans think inequality in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are the same.Americans are more likely to think Saudi Arabia has greater inequality than the U.S., though they rank the U.S. above some other industrialized nations. When asked to choose among five countries, 44% of Americans think Saudi Arabia has the most inequality, ahead of the United States at 31%. Still, the U.S. ranks far above Japan (7%), Germany (3%), and Denmark (2%) among Americans.Americans with lower incomes, however, are more inclined to put the U.S. on the same level with Saudi Arabia when it comes to inequality. Americans earning under $50,000 a year are as likely to say the U.S. (37%) has the most inequality as they are to say Saudi Arabia (36%).In Which Country is Inequality the Greatest?Total<$50K$50K-$100K$100K+Saudi Arabia44%36%53%60%The United States31372326Japan 7 9 6 1Germany 3 2 4 3Denmark 2 1 2 4Which one of the following places is the best at making people feel equal?Americans see a place of worship as most conducive to equality.What places make Americans feel the most equal? 33% pick a place of worship, the top choice from a list of six different places where Americans congregate. 25% think death is the true equalizer, however, and pick the cemetery as their top choice. Other locales on the list include a sporting event (11%), a college or university (10%), the emergency room (9%), or the neighborhood bar (7%).Although a place of worship is the top choice of Americans who express a religious affiliation (38%), Americans who don’t identify with a religion pick the cemetery as the place that makes people feel the most equal (31%).Which Place Makes People Feel the Most Equal?Total ReligiousNot ReligiousA place of worship33%38%21%The cemetery252331A sporting event111014A college/university101011The emergency room 9 9 9The neighborhood bar 7 610Which one of the following novels teaches the best lesson about inequality?Americans rank To Kill a Mockingbird as the most important novel about inequality.When asked to suggest a novel by which to learn a lesson about inequality, Americans put To Kill a Mockingbird at the top of the list. 24% of Americans pick Harper’s Lee’s 1960 novel – which touches on themes of race, class, and gender – as the work of fiction that gives the best lesson about inequality from a list of seven, ahead of two other novels set in the American South that deal with race: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (16%) and Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn (11%). Further down on the list are books that deal with socio-economic class: George Orwell’s Animal Farm (10%), John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders (6%). At the bottom of the list is Ayn Rand’s paean to libertarianism, Atlas Shrugged (2%).Which Novel Teaches the Best Lesson About Inequality?TotalMenWomenWhitesBlacks To Kill a Mockingbird24%20%27%24%29%The Color Purple1613191526Huckleberry Finn11121012 8Animal Farm1014 711 7The Grapes of Wrath 6 7 6 7 5The Outsiders 6 7 5 6 6Atlas Shrugged 2 2 1 1 1If you could attack racial inequality in just one of the following areas, which would you choose?How to attack racial inequality? Republicans choose the education system; Democrats choose the justice system.If you were in charge of eliminating racial inequality, where would you begin? Americans are divided on which area to attack: 42% choose the justice system, but 38% choose the education system. Another 16% would attack racial inequality in the workplace. Republicans and Democrats have different priorities. While more Republicans think the best place to attack inequality is the education system (40%), more Democrats would pick the justice system (47%). Independents are divided. Where Would You Choose to Attack Racial Inequality?TotalRepsDemsIndsWhitesBlacksThe justice system42%34%47%42%41%48%The education system384034403836The workplace162017131615The Equal Rights Amendment - or ERA – stated that equal rights under the law should not be denied on account of a person’s sex. When did the Equal Rights Amendment become part of the U.S. Constitution?Just one in four Americans know that the Equal Rights Amendment was never ratified.Although it was a major cause in the 1970s and did pass through Congress, the proposed Equal Rights Amendment that would have guaranteed the equal rights of men and women under federal law was never ratified by enough state legislatures to become a part of the U.S. Constitution. Most Americans don’t seem to know this, however. When asked when the ERA became federal law, just 25% of Americans correctly say never. Men (28%) are slightly more likely to get this right than women (22%).Instead, 4% of Americans think it’s been a part of the Constitution since 1920 (when the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote) while another 8% pick 1923 (when the ERA was first proposed.) Far more remember the battle in the 1970s but don’t seem to recall the outcome: 27% think it passed into law in 1972 when it passed both houses of Congress, while another 9% think this happened in 1979 (the initial ratification deadline). Another 27% say they just don’t know.When Did the Equal Rights Amendment Become Law?TotalMenWomenNever25%28%22%1920 4 5 3 1923 8 8 719722727271979 9 910Don’t know272232If you had to pick, which one of the following is the single biggest cause of income inequality in America today?Lack of education is seen as biggest cause of income inequality.What is viewed as the biggest cause of income inequality? Americans pick lack of education first (32%), ahead of corporate greed (24%), though another 17% say it’s the government. Further down on the list are racism and prejudice (10%), single parent families (7%), and illegal immigration (7%).Those who earn the most money are the most likely to attribute the difference to education. 46% of Americans earning $100,000 a year or more say income inequality is due to lack of education, compared to just 28% of those earning less than $50,000 a year.What Is the Biggest Cause of Income Inequality?Total<$50K$50K-$100K$100K+Lack of education32%28%33%46%Corporate greed24242721The government17191613Racism and prejudice1012 8 7Single parent families 7 7 7 9Illegal immigration 7 7 4 4How many of the people you know are “one percenters”?The “one-percenters” hobnob with the hoi polloi sometimes.Most Americans don’t know any “one percenters”, at least as far as they know. 26% of Americans say they don’t know any members of this elite group, which commonly refers to the top 1% of Americans in terms of personal wealth. Another 30% don’t know what a “one percenter” is. But many Americans do think they know some members of this group. 11% say they know one or two one-percenters, while 16% say they know a few. 7% - which is still far more than 1% - say most of the people they know are “one percenters”. Not surprisingly, Americans earning $100,000 a year or more are more likely to say that at least a few of their friends are “one percenters” than those with lower incomes.How Many of the People You Know Are One-Percenters?TotalUnder $100K$100K+Most of them 7% 8% 5%A few of them161427Just one or two111110None of them262625What’s a “one-percenter?”303127In your opinion, how much should the highest paid employee of a company receive in salary and compensation compared to the lowest paid employee in the same company?Many lower income Americans support “wage equality”.The AFL-CIO recently reported that CEOs of top companies earn almost 350 times as much as average workers, and most Americans think this is too much. Just 4% think that the highest paid employee of the company should receive 350 times the amount its least paid worker is, while another 9% think 100 times is about right. More - 17% - would put the ratio at 50 to 1, while 35% say ten times more is about right. Another one in five, however, thinks that everyone in a given company should earn the same amount.Americans who earn the least are most likely to think that everyone should be paid equally. 41% of Americans earning under $25,000 a year think everyone in the company should be paid the same, compared to just 6% of Americans earning $100,000 a year or more.How Much Should the Highest Paid Employee Get Compared to the Lowest Paid?Total<$25K$25K-$50K$50K-$100K$100K+Ten times more35%27%42%42%31%Fifty times more1717181716100 times more 9 6 61216350 times more 4 1 3 412Everyone paid the same194118 8 6As far as you know, where does a household earning $50,000 a year rank in terms of income in the United States today?Most middle income Americans don’t know they’re middle income.Recent census data puts a household earning $50,000 a year just about dead center in terms of median income in the U.S. today, but most Americans don’t know that – not even those who are close to that income range. 38% say $50,000 a year is right in the middle, but over half think it’s lower than most Americans: 15% put an annual income of $50,000 a year in the bottom 10th of U.S. incomes, while another 36% would put it in the bottom third. Another 8% put it in the top half.What Percentile Is a Household Earning $50K in the U.S.?Total<$25K$25K-$50K$50K-$75K$75K+Bottom10th15%17%20%16%11%Bottom3rd3629334341Right in the middle3843353340The top half 8 712 4 6____________________________________________________________________________This poll was conducted by telephone from June 5-9, 2015 among a random sample of 1,010 adults nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus 3 percentage points. The error for other subgroups may be higher. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Poll.60 Minutes/Vanity Fair PollInequalityJune 5-9, 2015VF-1. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “All men are created equal”. Do you believe this statement is true or false?************** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ******************* Gender ****** Race ***TotalMenWomenWhitesBlacks % % % % %True7675777866False2222212033Don’t know/no answer 23 2 2 1VF-2. Which one of the following statements comes closest to your view? Inequality is helpful because it gives people ambition, or Inequality is harmful because it deprives people of hope.***** Party ID *****TotalRepsDemsInds % % % %Helpful40503837Harmful49405350Don’t know/no answer1110 913VF-3. In which country would you say inequality is the greatest?********** Income ***********Total<$50K$50K-$100K$100K+ % % % %Saudi Arabia44365360The United States31372326Japan 7 9 6 1Germany 3 2 4 3Denmark 2 1 2 4Don’t know/no answer151513 6VF-4. Which one of the following places is the best at making people feel equal?TotalReligiousNot-religious % % %A place of worship333821The neighborhood bar 7 610A college or university101011A sporting event111014The emergency room 9 9 9The cemetery252331None of these (vol.) 2 2 1Don’t know/no answer 3 3 3VF-5. Which one of the following novels teaches the best lesson about inequality?************** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ******************* Gender ****** Race ***TotalMenWomenWhitesBlacks % % % % %To Kill a Mockingbird2420272429The Color Purple1613191526Huckleberry Finn11121012 8Animal Farm1014 711 7The Grapes of Wrath 6 7 6 7 5The Outsiders 6 7 5 6 6Atlas Shrugged 2 2 1 1 1Don’t know/no answer2424242516VF-6. If you could attack racial inequality in just one of the following areas, which would you choose?***** Party ID *****TotalRepsDemsInds % % % %The justice system42344742The education system38403440The workplace16201713None of these (vol.) 2 2 2 2Don’t know/no answer 2 3 1 2VF-7. The Equal Rights Amendment - or ERA – stated that equal rights under the law should not be denied on account of a person’s sex. When did the Equal Rights Amendment become part of the U.S. Constitution?*** Gender ***TotalMenWomen % % %1920 4 5 31923 8 8 719722727271979 9 910Never252822Don’t know/no answer272232VF-8. If you had to pick, which one of the following is the single biggest cause of income inequality in America today?********** Income ***********Total<$50K$50K-$100K$100K+ % % % %Lack of education32283429Corporate greed24242625The government17191219Racism and prejudice101214 9Single parent families 7 6 6 6Illegal immigration 7 7 5 6None of these (vol.) 2 2 1 2Don’t know/no answer 3 3 2 4VF-9. How many of the people you know are “one percenters”?******* TOTAL RESPONDENTS *************** Income *******Total<$100K$100K+ % % %Most of them 7 8 5A few of them161427Just one or two111110None of them262625What’s a “one percenter?”303127Don’t know/no answer1010 6VF-10. In your opinion, how much should the highest paid employee of a company receive in salary and compensation compared to the lowest paid employee in the same company?**************** Income *******************Total<$25K$25K-$50K$50K-$100K$100K+ % % % % %Ten times more3527424231Fifty times more1717181716100 times more 9 6 61216350 times more 4 1 3 412Everyone should be paid the same194118 8 6Don’t know/no answer16 9141618VF-11. As far as you know, where does a household earning $50,000 a year rank in terms of income in the United States today?Total<$25K$25K-$50K$50K-$75K$75K+ % % % % %The bottom tenth1517201611The bottom third3629334341Right in the middle3843353340The top half 8 712 4 6Don’t know/no answer 4 5 * 4 2*Less than 0.5%Total respondents:1,010 ................
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