Recent polls indicate the leaderless, worldwide protests that fall under the Occupy Wall Street banner are more popular than last year's Tea Party movement. A TIME magazine poll showed that 54 percent of respondents see Occupy Wall Street in a favorable light, compared to only 27 percent who view the Tea Party the same way. Meanwhile, 65 percent said that "the Tea Party's influence has been negative or negligible," while only 23 percent had a negative opinion of Occupy Wall Street.
It's not just the movement's public face that people are judging, though. Other polls show widespread support for the kinds of measures that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are in favor of, including higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
Opinion of Wall Street bankers
A survey conducted by Quinnipiac University showed that two-thirds of respondents were upset that the banks were doing so well in the recession after being bailed out, while many of "the 99 percent" remain underwater.
Bipartisan agreement on right to protest
Eighty-one percent of Democrats who responded agreed ideologically with Occupy Wall Street, compared to only 35 percent of polled Republicans. 87 percent of all of the poll's respondents, though, agreed that the protesters had the right to stay camped out in Zuccotti Park as long as they obey the laws.
Both parties agree that the rich should be taxed more
A Bloomberg-Washington Post poll showed that two-thirds of all its respondents want to increase taxes on the rich ... including 53 percent of Republican respondents.
Neither party in favor of "class warfare"
Eighty percent of respondents to the Bloomberg poll agreed that "the middle class will have to make financial sacrifices" as well. There was little support for increased taxes on the middle class, though, and more than two-thirds of those surveyed believed there should be no cuts to America's biggest social safety net programs, Social Security and Medicare.
Both parties favor a "millionaire's tax"
A poll of New York State voters conducted by the Siena Research Institute shows that 72 percent support raising taxes on those making $1 million or more per year, even if it would hypothetically "make New York less attractive to businesses." Eighty-three percent of Democrats and 55 percent of Republicans polled supported the idea, and New York State Governor Cuomo has "expressed support" for the nationwide millionaire's tax proposed by President Barack Obama.
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