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[H1 align=center]THE PUBLIC TENDS TO BLAME THE POOR, THE UNEMPLOYED, AND THOSE ON WELFARE FOR THEIR PROBLEMS[/H1] [P align=center]_____________________________________
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by Humphrey Taylor Three-quarters of all adult Americans believe that most people on welfare would find paid work if they were not on welfare, and that most people who are unemployed could find work without much difficulty if they really tried. Furthermore, a plurality believes that the poor are mainly to blame for their poverty; only just over a third believes that they are mostly poor through no fault of their own.
These are the results of a Harris Poll of 1,024 adults surveyed by telephone between April 7 and 10, 2000.
There are quite large differences between Republicans and Democrats on these issues. Republicans and Conservatives are more likely to blame and criticize the poor, the unemployed and those on welfare; Democrats, independents, liberals and moderates, are less likely to do so.
This Harris Poll also shows that even though most people blame those who are on welfare, unemployed or poor for their problems, they also believe (by 75% to 22%) that "this is a rich country, which could afford to do more to help the poor." Furthermore a 65% to 28% majority agrees that "most people on welfare would suffer very seriously if they did not get their welfare payments."
American Exceptionalism?
The result of this survey help to explain why the United States, alone among western democracies, has never had a significant sotgwpdt party. Americans, perhaps more than people in any other country, tend to believe that everyone should be able to find work and make it into the middle class, and that if they do not it is their own fault, not just bad luck. The welfare state, many Americans believe, just makes it easier for those who are lazy to avoid work and still survive.
Key findings in this Harris Poll include:
[UL] [UL] [LI]A 45% plurality of all adults believes that "most people who are poor are mainly to blame themselves for their poverty"; 36% believe "they are poor through no fault of their own."
[LI]Among Republicans a 53% to 30% majority believes that most poor people are to blame for their poverty. An even larger 56% to 29% majority of Conservatives believes this to be true.
[LI]A 49% to 37% plurality of Liberals believes that most people are poor through no fault of their own. Democrats are equally divided on whether or not they are to blame.
[LI]Small pluralities of Independents (44% to 38%) and Moderates (43% to 36%) think that most poor people are to blame for their poverty.
[LI]Very large majorities of all adults believe that "most people who are unemployed could find work if they really worked at it" (77% to 18%) and that "most people who are on welfare and do not work would find paid work if they were not on welfare" (75% to 20%). [/LI][/UL][/UL]
Humphrey Taylor is the Chairman of the Harris Poll.
[P align=center]TABLE 1
[P align=center]MOST POOR PEOPLE TO BLAME FOR THEIR POVERTY?
[P align=center]Base: All Adults
[P align=center]"In general, do you think that most adults who are poor are mainly to blame themselves for their poverty or are they poor through no fault of their own?"
[DIV align=center]
[TABLE cellSpacing=0 width=500 border=1] [TBODY] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD colSpan=3] [P align=center]PARTY I.D.
[/TD] [TD colSpan=3] [P align=center]POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD] [P align=center]Total
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]Republican
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]Democrat
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]Independent
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]Conservative
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]Moderate
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]Liberal
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]%
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Poor mainly to blame for their poverty[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]45
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]53
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]40
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]44
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]56
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]43
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]37
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Poor through no fault of their own[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]36
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]30
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]42
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]38
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]29
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]36
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]49
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD]Don't know/ Refused[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]16
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]17
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]18
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]19
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]16
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]22
[/TD] [TD] [P align=center]15
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[P align=center]TABLE 2
[P align=center]AGREE/DISAGREE WITH STATEMENTS ABOUT THE UNEMPLOYED, PEOPLE ON WELFARE AND POVERTY
[P align=center]Base: All Adults
[P align=center]"Overall do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
[DIV align=center]
[TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=7 width=450 border=1] [TBODY] [TR] [TD vAlign=top width="36%" height=2][/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="5%" height=2][/TD] [TD vAlign=top width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]Agree
[/TD] [TD vAlign=top width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]Disagree
[/TD] [TD vAlign=top width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]Don't Know
[/TD] [TD vAlign=top width="14%" height=2] [P align=center]Refused
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD vAlign=top width="36%" height=2]Most people who are unemployed could find paid work without much difficulty if they really worked at it[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="5%" height=2] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]77
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]18
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]4
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=2] [P align=center]1
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD vAlign=top width="36%" height=2]Most people who are on welfare and do not work, would find paid work if there were not on welfare[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="5%" height=2] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]75
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]20
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]5
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=2] [P align=center]1
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD vAlign=top width="36%" height=2]This is a rich country which could afford to do more to help the poor than we do now[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="5%" height=2] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]75
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]22
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]3
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=2] [P align=center]1
[/TD][/TR] [TR] [TD vAlign=top width="36%" height=2]Most of the people on welfare would suffer very seriously if they did not get their welfare payment[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="5%" height=2] [P align=center]%
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]65
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]28
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="15%" height=2] [P align=center]5
[/TD] [TD vAlign=center width="14%" height=2] [P align=center]2
[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]
[/DIV]
[P align=center]Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the United States between April 7 – 10, 2000, among a nationwide cross section of 1024 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.
In theory, with a sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (non-response), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is difficult or impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
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Q505, 510
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©2000, Harris Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without the express written permission of Harris Interactive.
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