In 1994, as hostility toward the government reached a high point, just 41% backed more aid for the poor, even if it increased the deficit. By comparison, there has been more consistency in the public’s overwhelmingly positive view of people who become wealthy through hard work. As shown in Figure B, government assistance programs are directly responsible for keeping tens of millions of people out of poverty. About four-in-ten Republicans (39%) think the government should help more needy people even if it means going deeper into debt. Yet poor families are often left with little alternative to these failing government schools. But the decline has been steeper among Republicans and, consequently, the partisan gap over these values has grown. Through much of the 1990s, roughly nine-in-ten Republicans consistently said poor people were too reliant on the government. A comparable percentage (65%) believes that the government should guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep. (See chart page 8.). 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA About as many Republicans say the government does too much for the poor (33%) as say it does too little; 27% say the help the government provides is about right. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. A majority of those younger than 50 (58%) say the government does not do enough for younger people, compared with 44% of those 50 and older. The shift among Republicans on this issue has been much more modest. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World. That represents a modest increase from recent values surveys ­ and a more significant change from 1994, when anti-government sentiments were the most pervasive over the past 16 years. Image Plummets Internationally as Most Say Country Has Handled Coronavirus Badly, Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins, An examination of the 2016 electorate, based on validated voters. As with views about government help to the poor, Republicans are divided. Lower-Income Republicans Say Government Does Too Little for Poor People, U.S. Only about half of Democrats (51%) feel people think they can get ahead without working hard, which is the lowest level of Democratic agreement since Pew began asking this question. Democrats and Republicans also differ in their attitudes about the help the government provides to wealthy people. Six-in-ten whites (61%) and nearly as many African Americans (56%) think that many people today think they can advance without working hard. In general, Americans who believe that government should use its power to help the poor are... economic liberals. Nearly seven-in-ten Democrats (69%) say the federal government does not provide enough help for younger people. As a result, the gap between Democrats and Republicans ­ as well as between Democrats and independents ­ has grown substantially. The political differences over government’s role in aid for the poor are seen most clearly in the question of whether the government should go into debt to help more needy people. : Goats and Soda Forget food aid, cows and job training. Social Security is, by far, the most powerful anti-poverty program in the United States. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. By contrast, fewer than half of Republicans (46%) believe the government should guarantee food and housing, a percentage that has not changed significantly over the past few years. The partisan divide over the responsibilities of government to alleviate poverty is much more striking. There is an almost identical difference between the races in views of whether hard work offers little guarantee of success (41% of blacks, 27% of whites agree). The national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Jan. 10-15 among 1,503 adults, finds that views on government help for the poor, the middle class and the wealthy – as well as for older people – have changed little in recent years. Similarly, differences between Democrats and independents over whether the government should guarantee every citizen food and housing have grown sharply since 1999 (from four points to 17 points). An unprecedented 12 … The percentage of Republicans who endorse that idea has been growing steadily since 1994 (from 25% that year), but the partisan gap has also widened and now stands at 33 points. The partisan gap is much wider in views of government help for younger people. Two-thirds (66%) say it is the responsibility of the government to take care of people who can’t care for themselves. That marks no change from last year (77%) and a modest increase since 1999 (70%). Seven-in-ten Democrats say the government does not provide enough help for the middle class, compared with about half of Republicans (51%). (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main Half of independents think the government should help more poor people even if it adds to the deficit. But that number has declined significantly since reaching a peak in 1994 (85%). By more than two-to-one (67%-30%), the public rejects the idea that “Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside our control.” Opinion was more divided regarding this value from the late 1980s through the early 1990s ­ in 1993, as many as 41% said they felt success was outside their personal control, a number that has fallen by 11 points over the past decade. Moreover, more black Democrats than white Democrats now say that the poor have become too reliant on government assistance (67% of black Democrats, 60% of white Democrats). Image Plummets Internationally as Most Say Country Has Handled Coronavirus Badly, Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins, An examination of the 2016 electorate, based on validated voters, Next: Part 5: Social and Political Attitudes about Race, 1987-2003 Values Surveys Combined Dataset Dataset. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. What may be more surprising is that, in spite of the rising budget deficit, a 54% majority thinks the government should help more needy people even if it means going deeper into debt. As recently as 1997, partisan differences over the relationship between hard work and success had disappeared ­ 32% of Democrats and 31% of Republicans said that hard work provided little guarantee of success. A large majority of Democrats (77%) say the federal government provides too much help to the wealthy. Republican attitudes about government help to the poor, middle class and wealthy differ significantly by family income. A narrow majority of Republicans (54%) agree; that marks little change from last year (52%) or that late 1990s. While the partisan gap over this issue remains substantial, differences between the races have narrowed. Republicans are divided: Nearly equal shares say the government does too little (29%) and too much (27%) for younger people, while 36% say it provides about the right amount of help. Nearly half of Republicans with incomes under $40,000 (47%) say that the government does not provide enough assistance for poor people. The national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Jan. 10-15 among 1,503 adults, finds that views on government help for the poor, the middle class and the wealthy – as well as for older people – have changed little in recent years. The views of political independents fall roughly between those of Democrats and Republicans on these issues, but the gap between independents and Democrats has been growing. Attitudes toward this value have fluctuated over the years, but a decade ago, 39% of whites and a solid majority of African Americans (56%) subscribed to this opinion. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Opinions are more divided about the amount of help the government provides for younger people: About half (51%) say the government does not do enough for younger people, 29% say the government provides about the right amount of help, while 13% say it provides too much. Views among black Democrats, by comparison, have been more consistent: 78% of African American Democrats believe government should help more needy people even if it adds to the deficit. Nearly eight-in-ten Democrats (79%) say it is government’s responsibility to “take care of people who can’t take care of themselves.” That represents a nine-point increase since 2002 (70%) and is the highest percentage of Democrats to express this view since the late 1980s. Four years ago, 73% of Democrats and 63% of independents said government had a responsibility to take care of people who can’t care for themselves; today the gap is 17 points (79% of Democrats, 62% of independents). Half of independents think the government should help more poor people even if it adds to the deficit. A decade ago, more than a third of Republicans (35%) agreed with the statement “Success in life is pretty much determined by forces outside of our control.” In the current survey, just one-in-five Republicans hold that view. The partisan divide in views of government aid for the poor is wider than for other groups. In 1994, 63% of Democrats expressed this view. Independents are closer to Democrats than Republicans on both of these values. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World. A majority (59%) of lower-income Republicans say the middle class does not receive enough help. U.S. Only about a quarter of whites (27%) say success is determined by outside forces, compared with 43% of blacks. This is the first time this series has included a question about younger people. And that is because of a sharp rise in support among white Democrats for helping more needy people even at the cost of adding to the deficit. Fully 72% of Democrats say that it should ­ an increase of 20 points since 1997. Independents’ opinions on this issue have not changed much in recent years, though like Republicans, more independents now support government aid to the poor even if it expands the deficit (50% now, 39% in 1994). The same pattern is evident in Republican opinions on whether hard work offers little guarantee of success ­ 33% said that in 1994 compared with 19% in the current survey. Americans feel a strong sense of personal empowerment and have long valued the benefits of hard work. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. People who earn above a certain income should be forced to donate 10% of their money to the poor because, it will help break the vicious circle of poverty, help the society at large to move forward, and lead to a more equitable distribution of wealth. Again, the percentage of whites and African Americans holding this opinion has declined markedly since the early 1990s. However, the gap is somewhat narrower in views of government help for older people than for other groups. That is in line with levels in previous surveys, with the exception of 1991 when 73% said they agreed with that idea. Compared with a decade ago, significantly fewer Republicans and Democrats believe success is outside of a person’s control and that hard work offers little guarantee of success. Fully 82% of Democrats say the federal government does not provide enough help for poor people, compared with just 36% of Republicans. Americans are often inconsistent in their government policy preferences. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Opinions on this issue also were much more even divided in the early 1990s; in 1992, 45% endorsed the idea that hard work does not offer a clear path to success. Yet the differences between Democrats and independents on this issue are larger than ever (22 points). And while 58% of Republicans with incomes of less than $40,000 say the government provides too much help to wealthy people, only about four-in-ten (41%) of those with incomes of $40,000 or more say the same. Majorities of Americans say the federal government does not provide enough help for older people (65%), poor people (62%) and the middle class (61%). Partisan differences in opinions about the federal government’s help for the middle class are not as pronounced. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax Democratic opinions vary much less across income levels. In the current survey, about six-in-ten Democrats (63%) agree with the statement “Poor people have become too dependent on government assistance programs.” The number of Democrats who endorse this view has steadily declined in recent years, from 80% in 1994. Independents’ opinions on this issue have not changed much in recent years, though like Republicans, more independents now support government aid to the poor even if it expands the deficit (50% now, 39% in 1994). It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. More broadly, a consistent majority of Americans fault the work ethic of their fellow citizens. Large majorities of Democrats across income categories say the federal government does not provide enough help for the poor and middle class, and that it provides too much help for the wealthy. While Americans support a government safety net, a large majority (71%) continues to think that poor people have become too dependent on government assistance. The partisan gap is even larger over whether the government should “guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep.” Roughly eight-in-ten Democrats (81%) say the government should provide such a guarantee, a modest rise from last year (78%) but a nine-point gain since 1999 (72%). Fewer Democrats also hold those beliefs than did so in the early 1990s, but the change has been somewhat less dramatic. About seven-in-ten whites (71%) and two-thirds (66%) of African Americans believe the poor have become too dependent on government aid. A similar pattern is seen on opinions about government help for the middle class. Correspondingly, about two-thirds of Americans (68%) disagree with the statement “Hard work offers little guarantee of success,” while just 30% agree with that statement. Race also is an important factor in these views. That compares with about half of Republicans with higher family incomes. This is about the same as in previous values surveys. The partisan gap on both values as wide as it has even been in the values surveys. By contrast, nearly two-thirds (64%) say the government provides too much help for wealthy people. There are partisan differences in views of government support for all groups included in the survey. Roughly three-in-ten political independents think that success lies outside a person’s control (31%) and that hard work offers little guarantee of success (32%). To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. This is considerably higher than those who make between $40,000 and $75,000 or $75,000 or more; only about three-in-ten in these income brackets say that poor people do not receive enough assistance (32% and 28%, respectively). Nearly half of Republicans (46%) say the federal government provides too much help for wealthy people, 42% say it provides about the right amount, while 6% say it does not provide enough help. And a steady six-in-ten believe that many people think they can get ahead without working hard. If anything, those sentiments are shared even more widely today than when the Center’s values surveys began in 1987. Six-in-ten agree with the statement “Many people today think they can get ahead without working hard and making sacrifices.” That percentage has changed little over the years, but as is the case with many values regarding the poor and government aid, partisan differences have grown. In contrast, there are only modest differences between whites and African Americans on this question. In addition, there are sizable age differences in views of government help for younger people – but not in how much the government does for older people. In the current survey, 84% of Republicans express that view. As might be expected, Democrats are much more supportive than Republicans of a social safety net. This is the first time that has occurred since Pew began asking this question in 1992. The poor do … More than a third of Democrats (36%) think success is largely outside of an individual’s control and the same number (36%) say hard work offers little guarantee of success. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. Is Giving Out Cash With No Strings Attached The Best Way To End Poverty? That is the highest percentage of Democrats expressing this opinion since the values surveys began in 1987. In 2018, it was responsible for keeping 27.3 million people, or 8.4% of all people in America, above the SPM poverty threshold. Pew Research Center’s recent report on the public’s political values found that partisan differences in attitudes about aid to the poor and needy have widened considerably over the past two decades. Consistent with greater Democratic support for government aid for the poor, Democrats also are less likely than Republicans to say that poor people are too dependent on government help. In 1991, 44% of whites and 56% of blacks said that hard work offered little guarantee of success. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main While 73% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say the federal government does not do enough for older people, a smaller majority of Republicans (58%) say the same. Since 1992, no fewer than 87% have said they admire people who have gotten rich through hard work. Yet while Americans feel empowered and applaud individual enterprise, they increasingly see the need for a government safety net for the needy. While African Americans have been consistently more supportive than whites of government aid to the poor, racial differences among Democrats have narrowed considerably. 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA In that study, 71% of Democrats said the government should do more to help the needy even if it meant going deeper in debt, compared with 24% of Republicans. Republican attitudes have been much more consistent: two-thirds of Republicans (66%) believe many people think they can get ahead without sacrifice, little changed from previous surveys. Populism. Nearly identical shares of those under 50 (65%) and those 50 and older (66%) say the federal government does not do enough for older people. Seven-in-ten white Democrats hold that opinion today, up from 60% last year and 52% in 1987. A year ago, there was a much larger racial gap in these attitudes (12 points). Going back to 1988, an even higher percentage of African Americans (61%) believed that success was mostly outside a person’s control. An effective anti-poverty program would break up the government education monopoly and … In a time when teenagers from poor homes are the least likely to have jobs, [REF] government should not be using its resources to chase them out of the marketplace. 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