Most Americans Say There’s Too Much Inequality. A Growing Share Want the System Rebuilt.

Six in 10 Americans say economic inequality is too high, the same share as in 2019. What has changed is how far people think the fix needs to go, and how little faith they have that it will happen.

By Social Storytellers Collective News Desk

The Number That Didn’t Move, and the Ones That Did

Americans’ view of economic inequality has barely shifted in seven years. Their patience with it has. About 61% of U.S. adults say there is too much economic inequality in the country, according to a Pew Research Center report released October 14, unchanged from 2019. The view is far more common among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 78%, than among Republicans and Republican leaners, 42%. But among those who see too much inequality, the mood has hardened. Thirty-five percent now say no amount of economic inequality is acceptable, up from 29% in 2019, and 24% say the economic system needs to be completely rebuilt to address it, up from 14%. The survey of 5,166 adults was conducted Aug. 24 to 30, as affordability became a central argument in both parties’ midterm campaigns.