Majority Of Americans Don't Think The U.S. Economy Is Fair: Poll

A majority of Americans now believe that the American dream is, sadly, just a dream.

According to a Rasmussen poll released Wednesday, 53 percent of likely U.S. voters disagree with the sentiment that the economy is fair to people "who are willing to work hard." Only 41 percent agree with that statement.

Americans were more evenly divided on the issue just two months ago. In December, 47 percent of Americans agreed with the statement that the economy is fair, while 49 percent disagreed, according to Rasmussen.

This pessimism may reflect growing income inequality in the U.S. where the gap between the rich and the poor has risen more than any other major Western country since 1960. Unsurprisingly, high income inequality is linked to low economic mobility.

In America, only 11 percent of people raised in the bottom fifth of the income distribution are in households that make more than $50,000 more per year than their parents', according to a 2013 report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.