Welcome to the Number of the Day

February 17, 2021

Forty percent (40%) of voters nationwide believe American society is generally fair and decent. A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that 45% disagree and believe American society is generally unfair and discriminatory.[1]

Those figures are little changed since last June. Following the killing of George Floyd, just 38% believed our society is generally fair and decent, while 47% took the opposite view.[1][2]

However, these numbers reflect a dramatic change from the first time Scott Rasmussen asked that question back in the 1990s. In those days, voters routinely said society was generally fair and decent by roughly a 2-to-1 margin.[1]

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Republicans believe American society is generally fair and decent. However, 61% of Democrats take the opposite view. So do 52% of independent voters.[1]

There is also a big racial divide on this question. White voters are evenly divided, while 64% of Black voters say our society is unfair and discriminatory. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of Hispanic voters agree.[1]

Other data from the survey found that 76% of voters believe most Americans want to live in a society where white and Black Americans are treated equally. Thirteen percent (13%) believe that’s not true, and 11% aren’t sure.[1]