More Americans remain dissatisfied with income, wealth distribution: poll

More Americans remain dissatisfied with the way income and wealth are distributed in the United States, according to a Gallup poll released Friday.

Sixty-seven percent of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the way income and wealth are distributed, unchanged from last year, while 31 percent say they are satisfied, 1 percentage point lower than last year, shows the poll, which was conduced on Jan. 5-8.

Meanwhile, 60 percent of Americans are satisfied with the available opportunities to get ahead in the U.S. by working hard, up from 54 percent last year. The figures were between 10 and 20 points lower than pre-recession levels, the poll finds.

Clearly, Americans' satisfaction with the chances to get ahead are tied to their views of the economy. When the recession hit and economic confidence dropped, so did Americans' satisfaction with the chance to get ahead. Now that economic confidence is moving back up again, so are views of mobility, according to Gallup.

U.S. President Barack Obama has addressed both income and wealth distribution issues, calling for a "fair shot" for all Americans to be able to get ahead by working hard. He has also called for imposing higher taxes on the rich to help distribute income and wealth more equally.

This level of Americans' satisfaction fell during the recession that started in 2008, but has inched back up this year as the economic recovery has taken hold. The latest poll shows that most Americans remain dissatisfied with the inequality and the chance for upward mobility in the nation today. Endit