A poll taken by the New York Times and CBS News shows that almost half of the American public believes the ideas at the root of Occupy Wall Street reflect the views of most Americans. According to the poll, more than two-thirds of the public believes that the wealth of the country should be spread out more evenly. The results also show that seven out of ten people believe that the policies of the Republicans reflect the views of the rich. Two-thirds of the public object tax cuts for corporations and a similar number want to see an increase in income tax on millionaires.
To top off these statistics of what the average American thinks, this past Tuesday the Congressional Budget Office released a new study that shows the top 1 percent of American earners more than doubled their share of the nation’s income over the past three decades. With all of these poll and study results, it is easy to see that the majority of American’s are displeased with the way things have been going and are looking for a change. Perhaps the most disheartening result of the poll shows that 89 percent of Americans say they distrust the government to do the right thing. “Probably the government in Washington could be trusted at one time but now it seems like it’s all a game of who wins rather than what’s best for the people,” said Paulette Delgadillo, 52, a self-employed interior decorator who was quoted in the Times.
74 percent of the public said the country is on the wrong track and 84 percent disapprove of Congress- both Democrats and Republicans alike. With Obama’s “Jobs Act” voted against in Congress and his travels around the country over the past six weeks attempting to sell his “We Can’t Wait” campaign, it is interesting to see that more than half of the public believe that he lacks a clear cut plan for creating jobs.
Lastly, the majority of Americans seem to agree that the nation’s economic outlook is dark since 49 percent think the economy is at a standstill and 36 percent believe it is getting worse. “Three-quarters of the public lack confidence that Congress will be able to reach agreement on a plan to help create jobs.” The article in the Times pointed out that in February, 27 percent of Americans thought that “the views of the Tea Party movement reflected the sentiment of most Americans.” Currently, 46 percent of Americans feel the same way about the Occupy Wall Street movement taking place now.
SOURCE: The New York Times
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