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Poll: ‘More Americans Say U.S. a Nation of Haves and Have-Nots’

Jul 14th, 2008 • Posted in: Research Report

Gallup finds that half of the U.S. public perceives ’structural economic inequality in the country’

From Gallup:

“Along with their mounting concerns about national economic conditions in recent years, Americans have grown more likely to perceive structural economic inequality in the country. Nearly half of Americans, 49%, now say the nation is divided into two groups: the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots.’ This is up from 45% two years ago, and from 37% in June 2004.

“The perception of an unequal society has risen at an especially sharp rate among blacks and Hispanics, although non-Hispanic whites are also more likely to perceive a haves/have-nots division today than they were four years ago. Nearly three-quarters of blacks (72%) and close to half of Hispanics (49%) and whites (45%) now believe the nation is divided along have/have-not lines….

“At the same time that more Americans see an economic class divide in the country, the percentage of Americans holding a profoundly negative view of the U.S. economy has jumped sharply, from 41% in June 2004 to 55% in June 2006 to 84% in June 2008.

“Majority Still Identify Themselves as ‘Haves’

“Despite their heightened sense that America is a land of the haves and have-nots, Americans have not changed the way they categorize themselves along the same lines. Since 2004, the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as a member of the ‘haves’ in Gallup polling has registered just under 60%, while about a third have consistently considered themselves ‘have-nots.’ (An additional 8% to 12% don’t put themselves in either group.)

“There are no meaningful differences among Americans of different household income levels in their perceptions of whether the country is divided into the haves and have-nots. High-, medium-, and low-income groups are all about evenly split on the question.

“However, as expected, there is a high correlation between self-identification as a have or have-not and one’s household income. About three-quarters of high-income Americans (those making $75,000 or more annually) call themselves ‘haves,’ compared with a much smaller majority of middle-income households (those earning between $30,000 and $50,000), and only 33% of the lowest income group (those making less than $20,000)….

“Perhaps most interesting is that even at comparable income levels, middle- and upper-income blacks and Hispanics are less likely than whites to consider themselves ‘haves.’

“Among those earning between $30,000 and $74,999 per year, 63% of whites, but only 48% of blacks and 47% of Hispanics, classify themselves as ‘haves.’
“Similarly, among those earning $75,000 or more, fully 80% of whites, compared with 66% of blacks and 65% of Hispanics, call themselves ‘haves.’

“…Blacks and Hispanics — even those living in high-income households — lag significantly behind whites in believing they are among the nation’s ‘haves.’ Beyond financial issues, these groups may be more likely today than four years ago to perceive that certain obstacles stand in the way of members of their own racial and ethnic groups’ ability to break into the advantaged class….”