60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll
Inequality
June 5-9, 2015

Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “All men are created
equal”. Do you believe this statement is true or false?
Most Americans agree that all men are created equal.
Thomas Jefferson wrote that it was “self-evident” that all men were created equal, and most
Americans agree. 76% of Americans think this phrase penned by Jefferson in the Declaration
of Independence is true. 77% of women agree with 75% of men that “all men are created
equal”.
Most black Americans also agree, though they are a little more skeptical than white Americans
when they assess this declaration of equality penned by a man who himself owned black
slaves. While 78% of whites think this phrase is true, this percentage drops 66% of blacks.
True
False

Total
76%
22
All Men Are Created Equal
Men Women
Whites
75% 77%
78%
22
21
20
Blacks
66%
33
Which one of the following statements comes closest to your view? Inequality is helpful
because it gives people ambition, or Inequality is harmful because it deprives people of
hope.
Some Americans think inequality isn’t such a bad thing after all.
Inequality may have some merit to it, at least according to many Americans. Although 49% of
Americans think inequality is harmful because it deprives people of hope, a sizeable minority –
40% - think inequality is instead helpful because it gives people ambition. Republicans tend to
think inequality is more helpful (50%) than harmful (40%), while most Democrats think inequality
is harmful (53%).
Inequality: Helpful or Harmful?
Total
Reps Dems Inds
Helpful
40%
50% 38% 37%
Harmful
49
40
53
50

In which country would you say inequality is the greatest – Denmark, the United States,
Germany, Japan, or Saudi Arabia?
Some lower income Americans think inequality in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are the same.
Americans are more likely to think Saudi Arabia has greater inequality than the U.S., though
they rank the U.S. above some other industrialized nations. When asked to choose among five
countries, 44% of Americans think Saudi Arabia has the most inequality, ahead of the United
States at 31%. Still, the U.S. ranks far above Japan (7%), Germany (3%), and Denmark (2%)
among Americans.
Americans with lower incomes, however, are more inclined to put the U.S. on the same level
with Saudi Arabia when it comes to inequality. Americans earning under $50,000 a year are as
likely to say the U.S. (37%) has the most inequality as they are to say Saudi Arabia (36%).
Saudi Arabia
The United States
Japan
Germany
Denmark

In Which Country is Inequality the Greatest?
Total
<$50K
$50K-$100K
44%
36%
53%
31
37
23
7
9
6
3
2
4
2
1
2
$100K+
60%
26
1
3
4
Which one of the following places is the best at making people feel equal?
Americans see a place of worship as most conducive to equality.
What places make Americans feel the most equal? 33% pick a place of worship, the top choice
from a list of six different places where Americans congregate. 25% think death is the true
equalizer, however, and pick the cemetery as their top choice. Other locales on the list include
a sporting event (11%), a college or university (10%), the emergency room (9%), or the
neighborhood bar (7%).
Although a place of worship is the top choice of Americans who express a religious affiliation
(38%), Americans who don’t identify with a religion pick the cemetery as the place that makes
people feel the most equal (31%).
Which Place Makes People Feel the Most Equal?
Total
Religious
Not Religious
A place of worship
33%
38%
21%
The cemetery
25
23
31
A sporting event
11
10
14
A college/university
10
10
11
The emergency room
9
9
9
The neighborhood bar
7
6
10

Which one of the following novels teaches the best lesson about inequality?
Americans rank To Kill a Mockingbird as the most important novel about inequality.
When asked to suggest a novel by which to learn a lesson about inequality, Americans put To
Kill a Mockingbird at the top of the list. 24% of Americans pick Harper’s Lee’s 1960 novel –
which touches on themes of race, class, and gender – as the work of fiction that gives the best
lesson about inequality from a list of seven, ahead of two other novels set in the American
South that deal with race: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple (16%) and Mark Twain’s
Huckleberry Finn (11%). Further down on the list are books that deal with socio-economic
class: George Orwell’s Animal Farm (10%), John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and S.E.
Hinton’s The Outsiders (6%). At the bottom of the list is Ayn Rand’s paean to libertarianism,
Atlas Shrugged (2%).
Which Novel Teaches the Best Lesson About Inequality?
Total
Men Women
Whites
To Kill a Mockingbird
24%
20% 27%
24%
The Color Purple
16
13
19
15
Huckleberry Finn
11
12
10
12
Animal Farm
10
14
7
11
The Grapes of Wrath
6
7
6
7
The Outsiders
6
7
5
6
Atlas Shrugged
2
2
1
1

Blacks
29%
26
8
7
5
6
1
If you could attack racial inequality in just one of the following areas, which would you
choose?
How to attack racial inequality? Republicans choose the education system; Democrats choose
the justice system.
If you were in charge of eliminating racial inequality, where would you begin? Americans are
divided on which area to attack: 42% choose the justice system, but 38% choose the
education system. Another 16% would attack racial inequality in the workplace.
Republicans and Democrats have different priorities. While more Republicans think the best
place to attack inequality is the education system (40%), more Democrats would pick the justice
system (47%). Independents are divided.
Where Would You Choose to Attack Racial Inequality?
Total
Reps Dems Inds
Whites
The justice system
42%
34% 47% 42%
41%
The education system
38
40
34
40
38
The workplace
16
20
17
13
16
Blacks
48%
36
15

The Equal Rights Amendment - or ERA – stated that equal rights under the law should
not be denied on account of a person’s sex. When did the Equal Rights Amendment
become part of the U.S. Constitution?
Just one in four Americans know that the Equal Rights Amendment was never ratified.
Although it was a major cause in the 1970s and did pass through Congress, the proposed Equal
Rights Amendment that would have guaranteed the equal rights of men and women under
federal law was never ratified by enough state legislatures to become a part of the U.S.
Constitution. Most Americans don’t seem to know this, however. When asked when the ERA
became federal law, just 25% of Americans correctly say never. Men (28%) are slightly more
likely to get this right than women (22%).
Instead, 4% of Americans think it’s been a part of the Constitution since 1920 (when the 19th
Amendment granted women the right to vote) while another 8% pick 1923 (when the ERA was
first proposed.) Far more remember the battle in the 1970s but don’t seem to recall the
outcome: 27% think it passed into law in 1972 when it passed both houses of Congress, while
another 9% think this happened in 1979 (the initial ratification deadline). Another 27% say they
just don’t know.
When Did the Equal Rights Amendment Become Law?
Total
Men
Women
Never
25%
28%
22%
1920
4
5
3
1923
8
8
7
1972
27
27
27
1979
9
9
10
Don’t know
27
22
32

If you had to pick, which one of the following is the single biggest cause of income
inequality in America today?
Lack of education is seen as biggest cause of income inequality.
What is viewed as the biggest cause of income inequality? Americans pick lack of education
first (32%), ahead of corporate greed (24%), though another 17% say it’s the government.
Further down on the list are racism and prejudice (10%), single parent families (7%), and illegal
immigration (7%).
Those who earn the most money are the most likely to attribute the difference to education.
46% of Americans earning $100,000 a year or more say income inequality is due to lack of
education, compared to just 28% of those earning less than $50,000 a year.
What Is the Biggest Cause of Income Inequality?
Total
<$50K
$50K-$100K
Lack of education
32%
28%
33%
Corporate greed
24
24
27
The government
17
19
16
Racism and prejudice
10
12
8
Single parent families
7
7
7
Illegal immigration
7
7
4
$100K+
46%
21
13
7
9
4

How many of the people you know are “one percenters”?
The “one-percenters” hobnob with the hoi polloi sometimes.
Most Americans don’t know any “one percenters”, at least as far as they know. 26% of
Americans say they don’t know any members of this elite group, which commonly refers to the
top 1% of Americans in terms of personal wealth. Another 30% don’t know what a “one
percenter” is.
But many Americans do think they know some members of this group. 11% say they know one
or two one-percenters, while 16% say they know a few. 7% - which is still far more than 1% say most of the people they know are “one percenters”. Not surprisingly, Americans earning
$100,000 a year or more are more likely to say that at least a few of their friends are “one
percenters” than those with lower incomes.
How Many of the People You Know Are One-Percenters?
Total
Under $100K
$100K+
Most of them
7%
8%
5%
A few of them
16
14
27
Just one or two
11
11
10
None of them
26
26
25
What’s a “one-percenter?”
30
31
27

In your opinion, how much should the highest paid employee of a company receive in
salary and compensation compared to the lowest paid employee in the same company?
Many lower income Americans support “wage equality”.
The AFL-CIO recently reported that CEOs of top companies earn almost 350 times as much as
average workers, and most Americans think this is too much. Just 4% think that the highest
paid employee of the company should receive 350 times the amount its least paid worker is,
while another 9% think 100 times is about right. More - 17% - would put the ratio at 50 to 1,
while 35% say ten times more is about right. Another one in five, however, thinks that everyone
in a given company should earn the same amount.
Americans who earn the least are most likely to think that everyone should be paid equally.
41% of Americans earning under $25,000 a year think everyone in the company should be paid
the same, compared to just 6% of Americans earning $100,000 a year or more.
How Much Should the Highest Paid Employee Get Compared to the Lowest Paid?
Total
<$25K
$25K-$50K
$50K-$100K $100K+
Ten times more
35%
27%
42%
42%
31%
Fifty times more
17
17
18
17
16
100 times more
9
6
6
12
16
350 times more
4
1
3
4
12
Everyone paid the same
19
41
18
8
6

As far as you know, where does a household earning $50,000 a year rank in terms of
income in the United States today?
Most middle income Americans don’t know they’re middle income.
Recent census data puts a household earning $50,000 a year just about dead center in terms of
median income in the U.S. today, but most Americans don’t know that – not even those who are
close to that income range. 38% say $50,000 a year is right in the middle, but over half think it’s
lower than most Americans: 15% put an annual income of $50,000 a year in the bottom 10th of
U.S. incomes, while another 36% would put it in the bottom third. Another 8% put it in the top
half.
What Percentile Is a Household Earning $50K in the U.S.?
Total
<$25K
$25K-$50K
$50K-$75K
Bottom 10th
15%
17%
20%
16%
Bottom 3rd
36
29
33
43
Right in the middle
38
43
35
33
The top half
8
7
12
4
$75K+
11%
41
40
6
____________________________________________________________________________
This poll was conducted by telephone from June 5-9, 2015 among a random sample of 1,010 adults
nationwide. Data collection was conducted on behalf of CBS News by SSRS of Media, PA. Phone
numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling
for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus 3 percentage points. The error for other
subgroups may be higher. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. This poll release
conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Poll.
60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll
Inequality
June 5-9, 2015
VF-1. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “All men are created equal”. Do you believe this statement is
true or false?
True
False
Don’t know/no answer
************** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ****************
*** Gender ***
*** Race ***
Total
Men
Women
Whites Blacks
%
%
%
%
%
76
75
77
78
66
22
22
21
20
33
2
3
2
2
1
VF-2. Which one of the following statements comes closest to your view? Inequality is helpful because it gives people ambition, or
Inequality is harmful because it deprives people of hope.
Helpful
Harmful
Don’t know/no answer
Total
%
40
49
11
***** Party ID *****
Reps
Dems Inds
%
%
%
50
38
37
40
53
50
10
9
13
VF-3. In which country would you say inequality is the greatest?
Saudi Arabia
The United States
Japan
Germany
Denmark
Don’t know/no answer
Total
%
44
31
7
3
2
15
********** Income ***********
<$50K $50K-$100K
$100K+
%
%
%
36
53
60
37
23
26
9
6
1
2
4
3
1
2
4
15
13
6
VF-4. Which one of the following places is the best at making people feel equal?
A place of worship
The neighborhood bar
A college or university
A sporting event
The emergency room
The cemetery
None of these (vol.)
Don’t know/no answer
Total
%
33
7
10
11
9
25
2
3
Religious
%
38
6
10
10
9
23
2
3
Not-religious
%
21
10
11
14
9
31
1
3
VF-5. Which one of the following novels teaches the best lesson about inequality?
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Color Purple
Huckleberry Finn
Animal Farm
The Grapes of Wrath
The Outsiders
Atlas Shrugged
Don’t know/no answer
************** TOTAL RESPONDENTS ****************
*** Gender ***
*** Race ***
Total
Men
Women
Whites Blacks
%
%
%
%
%
24
20
27
24
29
16
13
19
15
26
11
12
10
12
8
10
14
7
11
7
6
7
6
7
5
6
7
5
6
6
2
2
1
1
1
24
24
24
25
16
VF-6. If you could attack racial inequality in just one of the following areas, which would you choose?
The justice system
The education system
The workplace
None of these (vol.)
Don’t know/no answer
Total
%
42
38
16
2
2
***** Party ID *****
Reps
Dems Inds
%
%
%
34
47
42
40
34
40
20
17
13
2
2
2
3
1
2
VF-7. The Equal Rights Amendment - or ERA – stated that equal rights under the law should not be denied on account of a person’s
sex. When did the Equal Rights Amendment become part of the U.S. Constitution?
1920
1923
1972
1979
Never
Don’t know/no answer
Total
%
4
8
27
9
25
27
*** Gender ***
Men
Women
%
%
5
3
8
7
27
27
9
10
28
22
22
32
VF-8. If you had to pick, which one of the following is the single biggest cause of income inequality in America today?
Lack of education
Corporate greed
The government
Racism and prejudice
Single parent families
Illegal immigration
None of these (vol.)
Don’t know/no answer
Total
%
32
24
17
10
7
7
2
3
********** Income ***********
<$50K $50K-$100K
$100K+
%
%
%
28
34
29
24
26
25
19
12
19
12
14
9
6
6
6
7
5
6
2
1
2
3
2
4
8
VF-9. How many of the people you know are “one percenters”?
Most of them
A few of them
Just one or two
None of them
What’s a “one percenter?”
Don’t know/no answer
******* TOTAL RESPONDENTS *********
****** Income *******
Total
<$100K
$100K+
%
%
%
7
8
5
16
14
27
11
11
10
26
26
25
30
31
27
10
10
6
VF-10. In your opinion, how much should the highest paid employee of a company receive in salary and compensation compared to
the lowest paid employee in the same company?
Ten times more
Fifty times more
100 times more
350 times more
Everyone should be paid the same
Don’t know/no answer
Total
%
35
17
9
4
19
16
**************** Income *******************
<$25K $25K-$50K
$50K-$100K
$100K+
%
%
%
%
27
42
42
31
17
18
17
16
6
6
12
16
1
3
4
12
41
18
8
6
9
14
16
18
VF-11. As far as you know, where does a household earning $50,000 a year rank in terms of income in the United States today?
Total
%
15
36
38
8
4
The bottom tenth
The bottom third
Right in the middle
The top half
Don’t know/no answer
<$25K
%
17
29
43
7
5
$25K-$50K
%
20
33
35
12
*
$50K-$75K
%
16
43
33
4
4
$75K+
%
11
41
40
6
2
*Less than 0.5%
Total respondents:
1,010
9