The chart above is made from information in the new NBC News / Wall Street Journal Poll. That survey was conducted between July 30th and August 3rd of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, and has a margin of error of 3.1 points.
For several decades (since 1980), the Republicans have been running a con on the American people. They convinced people that the key to a good economy was to give rich people and corporations more money (through tax cuts, subsidies, deregulation, exporting of jobs, and lessening the power of unions to bargain & organize). They said the extra money given to the rich and corporations would then trickle-down to everyone else, and the entire country would benefit.
Of course, that didn't work. Nothing "trickled-down". The rich got much richer -- creating the biggest gap in wealth and income since before the Great Depression (and that gap is still growing, because the GOP has obstructed all attempts to alter their failed policy). That policy also resulted in a serious recession (from which most Americans have still not recovered), a falling median wage in the U.S., a shrinking middle class, the loss of many millions of jobs (and an unemployment rate that remains too high), and a rising poverty rate.
Fortunately, the American people are finally starting to realize they were hoodwinked by the Republicans. They are beginning to understand that the old belief that anyone can succeed in America is no longer true -- that the Republicans have rigged the economic system to favor the rich (and the corporations).
The only groups that still believe the GOP lie are the Republicans themselves (by a 28 point margin) and men (by a much smaller 4 point margin) -- while all adults (by a 10 point margin), women (by a 24 point margin), Independents (by a 28 point margin), and Democrats (by a 40 point margin) understand that the economic system is indeed rigged.
