Poll: Americans Both Admire and Dislike the Rich
Guys, it's called "envy." There's a word for it and everything.
Americans admire the rich. They just don't like them very much.
A Pew Research Center survey shows an overwhelming majority of people have high regard for those they consider wealthy, with almost half saying they're smarter and harder workers. At the same time, a majority says the wealthy are greedy and pay too little in taxes. One-third say they're dishonest.
More than six in 10 Americans say the Republican Party, which is holding its national convention this week, favors the wealthy, according to the poll released today.
The findings underscore the complicated feelings Americans have about wealth, as well as a troubling political issue for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has an estimated wealth of as much as $250 million. More than 70 percent of Americans say Romney's policies would help the wealthy more than anyone else.
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Although I prefer to judge by the individual as opposed by the group, I usually have more respect for rich people who started with little or nothing and actually worked for their wealth than those who had it handed to them at birth by Mommy and Daddy.