Afternoon Must-Read: Greg Sargent: Prioritize Combatting Inequality. It’s Popular.
Greg Sargent: Democrats should prioritize combatting inequality. It’s popular.:
Short version: While generic “government” still polls badly, the notion that government should act to combat inequality is popular, even among independents and moderates.... A sizable majority of Americans, 57 percent, believes that 'the federal government should pursue policies that try to reduce the gap between wealthy and less well-off Americans'.... Only Republicans and conservatives believe government should not act to reduce inequality, but even among them the numbers are surprising.... Among Republicans the numbers are 40-54, and among conservatives they are 45-48.... Though it’s often said Americans reject 'class warfare', individual government policies to fight inequality--higher taxes on the rich, strengthening the safety net, funding for education, infrastructure spending to create jobs, hiking the minimum wage--are broadly popular. Also, as Paul Krugman and Alec MacGillis argue, treating inequality as a central challenge is the right thing to do.
