American’s show a surprising level of consensus on the redistribution of wealth.

A Harvard business professor and economist teamed up with Duke’s Department of Psychology to gauge American’s optimal level of wealth inequality. In a survey of over 5,000 “regular” americans, the researchers discovered that respondents: 1) severely underestimated the level of current inequality, 2) constructed ideal wealth distributions that were far more equitable than their mistakenly low estimates, and 3) even among groups typically not associated with wealth redistribution – conservatives and the wealthy – desire for a more equal distribution remained consistent.

So even though President Barack Obama’s leaked comment, “I actually believe in redistribution,” became a go-to attack point for the GOP in the 2012 election, reality suggests that there is little disagreement over wealth inequality.

For the full report, visit: http://www.people.hbs.edu/mnorton/norton%20ariely%20in%20press.pdf