July 16-26, 2012 Pew Social Trends Poll—Nationwide poll on the income gap and which parties and candidates may help the poor.
In general, do you think the Democratic Party favors the rich, favors the middle class or favors the poor?
20% Favors the rich
35% Favors the middle class
32% Favors the poor
6% Favors non/all equally (Vol.)
7% Don۪t know/Refused
Survey by Pew Research Center. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, July 16 – July 26, 2012 and based on 2,508 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1505 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1003 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 531 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.082212S.R26]
Thinking about what Barack Obama might do for some groups if he were elected (president) for a second term (in 2012), do you think his policies would help…poor people, or not?
60% Yes, would help
30% No, would not help
2% Depends/Both/Neither
9% Don۪t know/Refused
Survey by Pew Research Center. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, July 16 – July 26, 2012 and based on 2,508 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1505 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1003 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 531 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.082212S.R16AC]
Thinking about what Mitt Romney might do for some groups if he were elected president (in 2012), do you think his policies would help…poor people, or not?
31% Yes, would help
53% No, would not help
2% Depends/Both/Neither
14% Don۪t know/Refused
Survey by Pew Research Center. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, July 16 – July 26, 2012 and based on 2,508 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1505 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1003 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 531 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.082212S.R16BC]
In general, do you think the Republican Party favors the rich, favors the middle class or favors the poor?
63% Favors rich
23% Favors the middle class
3% Favors the poor
5% Favors none/all equally (Vol.)
6% Don۪t know/Refused
Survey by Pew Research Center. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, July 16 – July 26, 2012 and based on 2,508 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1505 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1003 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 531 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.082212S.R25]
Is it a good thing or a bad thing for society that the income gap between the rich and poor has gotten larger/gotten smaller/stayed the same?
3% Gotten larger-Good thing
62% Gotten larger-Bad thing
2% Gotten larger-Mixed/Neither (Vol.)
2% Gotten larger-Don’t know/Refused
1% Gotten smaller-Good thing
5% Gotten smaller-Bad thing
* Gotten smaller-Mixed/Neither (Vol.)
* Gotten smaller-Don’t know/Refused
8% Stayed the same-Good thing
10% Stayed the same-Bad thing
2% Stayed the same-Mixed/Neither (Vol.)
2% Stayed the same-Don’t know/Refused
Subpopulation/Note: Asked of those who said the income gap between the rich and poor has gotten larger/gotten smaller/stayed the same (92%). * = less than .5%.
Survey by Pew Research Center. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, July 16 – July 26, 2012 and based on 2,508 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1505 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1003 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 531 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.082712S.R13B]
In the past ten years, do you happen to know if the income gap between the rich and the poor has gotten larger, gotten smaller or has it stayed about the same?
65% Gotten larger
7% Gotten smaller
20% Stayed the same
9% Don’t know/Refused
Survey by Pew Research Center. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, July 16 – July 26, 2012 and based on 2,508 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1505 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1003 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 531 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.082712S.R13]
Formal Citation
Pew Social Trends Poll, Jul, 2012. Retrieved Aug-23-2012 from the iPOLL Databank, The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/ipoll/ipoll.html