WASHINGTON—Here’s something that Democrats, Republicans and independents agree on. When it comes to the economy, they all want to protect Social Security and lower unemployment.
That’s where their similarities end.
Beyond the top two issues, Americans’ lists of top economic concerns for the next president are more fractured, according to a poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Democrats attach far more importance than do Republicans to narrowing the gap between rich and poor, reducing poverty and increasing wages to keep up with the cost of living.
Republicans place far more importance than Democrats on shrinking the federal deficit, reducing government regulation and reforming welfare.
So while Americans of all stripes consistently put the economy at or near the top of their most important issues, they sometimes have very different concerns when they do so.
Philadelphian James Leake, living on disability at age 50, worries about another economic “blowout” and zeroes in on income inequality as a key problem.
