NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School Poll
Poverty in America
As shown, some questions were asked only of subsets of respondents (e.g., people who said they knew about the new welfare law). The tables identify whether the results reflect percentages of the overall population or percentages of a subset. In some cases results for particular income-level subgroups are not shown because there were too few respondents on which to report. Some demographic questions are not shown, but all questions are presented in the order in which they were asked. An asterisk (*) indicates a response of less than 1%.
Return to the Summary or skip to a section:
I. General Background
| II. Why Are People Poor?
| III. Perceptions of Poor People
| IV. The Government's Role
| V. Perceptions of Welfare and Welfare Recipients
| VI. Perceptions of the New Welfare Law
| VII. Personal Experience with Economic Problems
| VIII. Demographics
VIII.
Demographics
58. In general, would you say your health is
excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor?
(Results for total respondents)
|
EXCELLENT/ VERY
GOOD/GOOD |
FAIR/POOR |
|
|
NET |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
NET |
Fair |
Poor |
Don’t know |
Total |
80 |
27 |
22 |
31 |
20 |
15 |
5 |
* |
<100% |
53 |
14 |
10 |
30 |
47 |
31 |
16 |
-- |
100-200% |
67 |
18 |
15 |
34 |
33 |
22 |
10 |
* |
200%+ |
86 |
31 |
25 |
30 |
14 |
11 |
3 |
* |
59. Do you expect to be receiving cash
assistance one year from now? (Results for
respondents who are receiving cash assistance from welfare or public
assistance)
[Total =76. <100%, 100-200%, 200%+
=too few respondents to report on]
|
Yes |
No |
Don’t know |
Total |
37 |
51 |
12 |
60. How much pressure do you feel you are
getting from the government to find a job?
(Results for respondents who are receiving cash
assistance from welfare or public assistance)
[Total =76. <100%, 100-200%, 200%+ =too few
respondents to report on]
|
A lot of pressure |
Not too much
pressure |
No pressure at all |
Don’t know |
Total |
14 |
17 |
68 |
2 |
61. If you could change one thing about the
current welfare system, what would it be?
(Results for respondents who are receiving cash assistance from welfare or public
assistance)
[Total =76. <100%, 100-200%, 200%+ =too few respondents to report on]
|
Total |
Help move people into education/help more
people go to school |
11 |
Help the homeless more |
1 |
Provide day care/help out with day
care |
6 |
Provide job training |
6 |
Help Americans before helping other
countries |
* |
Provide for the people who really need
it |
6 |
Help the people who are really trying to
make something of themselves by providing them with whatever is
holding them back |
3 |
People who aren’t willing to work should not
receive welfare |
9 |
Put more investigators on each case since
more people need help |
2 |
Women should be required to be on birth
control |
2 |
They shouldn’t harass people to get a job if
they’re unable to work |
3 |
Recipients that are blind should receive
their information/letters on tape |
2 |
Provide more money/benefits for those people
who really need help |
12 |
Other |
14 |
Nothing |
10 |
Don’t
know |
19 |
62. Do you feel the government will help you
if you fall on bad times, or do you think you'll have only yourself to
rely on?
(Results for total respondents)
|
Government will help |
Have to rely on self |
Don’t know |
Total |
29 |
65 |
6 |
<100% |
36 |
59 |
4 |
100-200% |
30 |
62 |
7 |
200%+ |
28 |
67 |
6 |
63. If you were asked to use one of these five
names for the economic class you belong to, which would you say you belong
in? Would you belong in …?
(Results for total
respondents)
|
Upper class |
Upper middle class |
Middle class |
Working class |
Lower class |
Don’t know |
Total |
2 |
12 |
40 |
36 |
9 |
1 |
<100% |
* |
2 |
26 |
32 |
40 |
* |
100-200% |
1 |
2 |
30 |
51 |
14 |
2 |
200%+ |
2 |
16 |
45 |
33 |
4 |
1 |
64. Of all the people who are on welfare in
this country, are more of them black or are more of them white? (Results for total respondents)
|
More are black |
More are white |
Don’t know |
Total |
36 |
28 |
36 |
<100% |
37 |
26 |
37 |
100-200% |
35 |
22 |
43 |
200%+ |
36 |
30 |
44 |
65. Some people are registered to vote and
others are not. Are you currently registered to vote at your present
address?
(Results for total respondents)
|
Yes |
No |
Don’t Know |
Total |
78 |
21 |
* |
<100% |
67 |
33 |
-- |
100-200% |
68 |
32 |
* |
200%+ |
82 |
18 |
* |
66. In politics today, do you consider
yourself a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or something else? (Results for total respondents)
|
Republican |
Democrat |
Independent |
Something
else |
Don’t Know |
Total |
28 |
33 |
25 |
11 |
3 |
<100% |
23 |
41 |
22 |
8 |
5 |
100-200% |
24 |
36 |
26 |
11 |
3 |
200%+ |
30 |
32 |
25 |
11 |
3 |
67. Do you consider yourself closer to the
Republican Party or the Democratic Party?
(Results from respondents who are Independent)
[Total =450, <100% =66, 100-200%=136, 200%+ =248]
|
Republican
Party |
Democratic
Party |
Neither |
Don’t Know |
Total |
34 |
41 |
19 |
6 |
<100% |
33 |
41 |
19 |
6 |
100-200% |
36 |
40 |
17 |
7 |
200%+ |
34 |
41 |
19 |
6 |
Leaned Party Table
|
Republican |
Democrat |
Independent |
Something
else |
Don’t Know |
Total |
36 |
43 |
6 |
11 |
3 |
<100% |
31 |
50 |
6 |
8 |
5 |
100-200% |
33 |
46 |
7 |
11 |
3 |
200%+ |
38 |
42 |
6 |
11 |
3 |
68. Would you say your views in most political
matters are liberal, moderate, conservative, something else, or haven't
you given this much thought? (Results for total
respondents)
|
Liberal |
Moderate |
Conservative |
Something
else |
Haven’t given this much
thought |
Don’t Know |
Total |
18 |
27 |
22 |
2 |
29 |
2 |
<100% |
18 |
19 |
12 |
3 |
44 |
4 |
100-200% |
15 |
20 |
19 |
3 |
42 |
1 |
200%+ |
19 |
30 |
24 |
2 |
24 |
1 |
69. What is the last grade or class that you
completed in school?
(Results for total respondents)
|
Total |
<100% |
100-200% |
200%+ |
High school graduate or less
(NET) |
49 |
74 |
70 |
41 |
Less than high school graduate
(SUBNET) |
17 |
41 |
33 |
10 |
None, or grade
1-8 |
5 |
15 |
10 |
3 |
High school
incomplete |
12 |
26 |
23 |
8 |
High school graduate +
(SUBNET) |
32 |
33 |
37 |
31 |
High school
graduate |
28 |
32 |
33 |
27 |
Business,
technical/vocational school |
4 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
Some college or more
(NET) |
51 |
26 |
29 |
58 |
Some college, no 4 year degree |
27 |
18 |
21 |
30 |
College graduate + (SUBNET) |
23 |
8 |
8 |
29 |
College
graduate |
16 |
6 |
6 |
19 |
Post-graduate
training |
8 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
Don’t Know |
* |
-- |
* |
* |
70. Are you, yourself, of Hispanic or Latino
background, such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or other Latin American
background? (Results for total respondents)
|
Yes |
No |
Don’t Know |
Total |
12 |
87 |
* |
<100% |
25 |
75 |
-- |
100-200% |
23 |
77 |
* |
200%+ |
8 |
91 |
* |
71. Do you consider yourself to be white,
black or African-American, Asian-American, or some other race? (Results for total respondents)
|