Polls show that rural and urban residents have vastly different opinions about federal health reform and President Obama, but the two geographies share similar opinions about economic issues and free trade, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.
The poll found that 54 percent of urban residents approve of the job Obama is doing, and 43 percent believe Obamacare is a good idea, while only 33 percent of rural residents approve of Obama's work, and 26 percent support health reform, Dante Chinni, director of the American Communities Project at American University, writes for The Wall Street Journal.
When asked if they believe that "Because of the widening gap between the incomes of the wealthy and everyone else, America is no longer a country where everyone has an opportunity to get ahead," 61 percent of rural respondents and 59 percent of urban respondents agreed with the statement, but a minority of suburbanites did.
In response to the statement, "In the next congressional election, I would likely support a candidate who says that free trade with other countries will cause the loss of U.S. jobs and will hurt wages and jobs here," 59 percent of rural respondents agreed, and 51 percent of urban ones did. Only 41 percent of suburbanites did.
Income, or the lack of it, is the main reason rural and urban respondents agree on the two issues, Chinni writes. Only 15.6 percent of rural households make more than $100,000 a year, while 27.2 percent earn less than $25,000. In big cities, 24.5 percent of residents earn more than $100,000, but 24.3 percent earn less than $25,000. Overall in the U.S., 22.2 percent of households earn more than $100,000, and 23.3 percent earn less than $25,000.
"The larger point in all these numbers is that populism, or economic unhappiness, has grown some roots in both Democratic and Republican base areas—overriding even the usual breakdown we usually see along urban/rural lines," Chinni writes. "There are still deep differences in urban and rural America, but these numbers suggest that a populist tide is growing in both places, and Democrats and Republicans ignore it at their own peril." (Read more)
The poll found that 54 percent of urban residents approve of the job Obama is doing, and 43 percent believe Obamacare is a good idea, while only 33 percent of rural residents approve of Obama's work, and 26 percent support health reform, Dante Chinni, director of the American Communities Project at American University, writes for The Wall Street Journal.
When asked if they believe that "Because of the widening gap between the incomes of the wealthy and everyone else, America is no longer a country where everyone has an opportunity to get ahead," 61 percent of rural respondents and 59 percent of urban respondents agreed with the statement, but a minority of suburbanites did.
In response to the statement, "In the next congressional election, I would likely support a candidate who says that free trade with other countries will cause the loss of U.S. jobs and will hurt wages and jobs here," 59 percent of rural respondents agreed, and 51 percent of urban ones did. Only 41 percent of suburbanites did.
Income, or the lack of it, is the main reason rural and urban respondents agree on the two issues, Chinni writes. Only 15.6 percent of rural households make more than $100,000 a year, while 27.2 percent earn less than $25,000. In big cities, 24.5 percent of residents earn more than $100,000, but 24.3 percent earn less than $25,000. Overall in the U.S., 22.2 percent of households earn more than $100,000, and 23.3 percent earn less than $25,000.
"The larger point in all these numbers is that populism, or economic unhappiness, has grown some roots in both Democratic and Republican base areas—overriding even the usual breakdown we usually see along urban/rural lines," Chinni writes. "There are still deep differences in urban and rural America, but these numbers suggest that a populist tide is growing in both places, and Democrats and Republicans ignore it at their own peril." (Read more)
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