The rich want us to go to war against Russia

Poll shows direct link between income and support for military involvement but not why you think

The richer you are, the more likely you want the U.S. military to get involved in a war in Europe. That’s the conclusion of a recent Rassmussen poll of likely voters.

Overall, half of Americans say the U.S. should send troops if the Russian invasion of Ukraine spreads to the West. But support goes way up — and way down — depending on how much money you make. And, to my surprise, it has nothing to do with whether you’re the one doing the fighting.

Members of the US army participate in the Crystal Arrow 2022 exercise on March 8, 2022 in Adazi, Latvia. (Photo by Paulius Peleckis/Getty Images)

For all likely voters in the poll, there was a 20 point split in favor of going to war — 49% in favor and 29% against it. I got the spreadsheet of the total poll crosstabs from Rassmussen, which is uploaded at the bottom to read.

A soldier walks in front of a destroyed Russian tank in Kharkov, Ukraine, 14 March 2022. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Then there’s the income gap. This tweet showed the dramatic difference from the lowest income to the highest -- it’s a 30-point spread — from 37% to 66% in favor. Look at this:

I replied: 

Emily Miller @emilymiller

@JackPosobiec Hey @Rasmussen_Poll - I stared at this tweet and thought, no way, this can't be right. The rich really want to go to war more than the rest of us?

Looking at the whole poll, it shows that of all factors, income is the biggest divider for going to war — more than gender, political party, race, support of Pres. Biden, education or even military service.

A serviceman of Ukrainian Military Forces looks out from his tank prior to the battle with Russian troops on March 8, 2022. - (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Most people commented on the poll to say the income split because the rich don’t know people in the military and/or they will profit from war spending. But only one of these factors proved accurate by the same poll.

APIs and IPAs @damongentry

@emilymiller @JackPosobiec @Rasmussen_Poll Because: They own stock in Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Haliburton and other military suppliers. Their sons/daughters aren't the ones volunteering in the Army in exchange for a college education. Given those two points, this makes perfect sense.

Dusan Cajic @CajicDusan

@emilymiller @JackPosobiec @Rasmussen_Poll I think it's 101% right. First, 'they' are not the ones who would 'go' to war and second, that's exactly how they would get more rich.

Military polled

One person tweeted at Rassmussen to get the polling company to ask the same question about support for the war to active-duty military and veterans. The man expected the results to show less support, read:

FreeThinknVet2 @Bonez1776

@Rasmussen_Poll Okay okay I'll bite. So take this same poll, but ask the military branches, ask veterans. I bet you everything, that the results would be a lot different. It's easier for people who haven't been to war to say, "let's go to war". Idk perspectives and experience is different.

He was wrong.

The poll included this question: Are you or a member of your family currently on active duty in the U.S. military? Nine percent said yes.

A US soldier walks past tanks standing at the United States Army military training base in Grafenwoehr, southern Germany, on March 11, 2022. (Photo by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images)

The biggest difference for the military is just that they are more likely to have made an opinion on this issue.

While 22% of the overall popularion is not sure about going to war, only 16% of the military is not sure. That made their yes and no responses increase to 52% in favor of going to war and 32% against it.

But notice that active-duty military and families have the exact same margin as everyone else — 20% more in favor of war.

Why do the rich want to get into a war more than the working class? And do you the Russian invasion of Ukraine will spread to Europe? Let me know what you think in the comments.