National Public Radio reported a few days ago on new poll that shows Democrats not getting credit for their assistance to low-income families. Kelsey Snell and Domenico Montanaro report, with some excerpts following, including this part I want to highlight the most, but which doesn't show up in the transcript. It's a quote from a Republican voter in Oklahoma who got the child tax credit for his kids but says it didn't help it all. In that regard, he represents one in five voters who responded to the survey. Curious, because it's hard to imagine how a cash infusion couldn't help "at all."
Perhaps more importantly, that respondent--whose race is not specified--doesn't think it's good for government to give money to people. Here's his quote (transcribed by me):
Long term, it's a problem because you need a better choice. What you're doing when you actually give these people that Band Aid is you're making them dependent on that Band Aid.
This reflects a long-standing attitude of Americans who value work--the idea of work. These folks expect all people to work because they work--even if the fruits of their labor don't truly meet their economic need. This is reflected most prominently in Jennifer Sherman's book, Those who Work, Those who Don't: Poverty, Morality and Family in Rural America, and I've written about it here and here.
What follows is an excerpt from the story's transcript with more context on the poll on which they're reporting:
Democrats say the child tax credit has a particularly large impact on low-income families for whom the additional funds have been crucial. A recent study from Columbia University found that those monthly payments kept 3.6 million children out of poverty in October.
In the NPR/Marist survey, almost 6 in 10 eligible households said they received the child tax credit. But the 59% of eligible respondents is far below the number of families that the government expects should be getting funds. The IRS estimated earlier this year that the families of 88% of children in the U.S. would be eligible for the payments and said in September that 35 million families received them.
The disconnect between the government figures and respondents' answers is a perception and credit problem for Biden and Democrats.
Even among those who did recall receiving the tax credit, two-thirds said it only helped a little and 1 in 5 said it didn't help at all.
Biden's perception problem
For the president, there were further signs that voters don't give him credit for the policies of his own administration.
When it came to those direct payments, respondents gave Democrats in Congress a plurality of the credit for getting them to people (40%), while 17%, credited Republicans — even though zero congressional Republicans voted for the March relief bill.
The same percentage — just 17% — felt Biden was most responsible for sending the cash.
While the numbers are a sign of a deeply polarized society, there's also evidence of lackluster feelings for the president among even people in his own party.
For example, in the survey, while 76% of Republicans strongly disapproved of the job Biden is doing, only 38% of Democrats strongly approved.
Democrats have spent months repeating the message that their legislation will not add to the deficit or worsen inflation. In an address from the White House in October, Biden called the plans fiscally responsible policies to help the country grow.
"They don't add a single penny to the deficit," he said. "And they don't raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. In fact, they reduce the deficit."
Overall, 61% of respondents said things in the country are going in the wrong direction. That's a significant drop from back in July, when .Biden was saying the U.S. was on the cusp of independence from the pandemic. Americans then were split but more optimistic than they are now on the direction of the country.
Cross-posted to Legal Ruralism.
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