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Questions - Poverty - March 25-26, 2013

24% Think Poverty Very Severe in U.S.
Americans Favor Work Over Welfare As Response to Poverty
64% Think Too Many Are Dependent on Government Aid
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National Survey of 1,000 Adults

Conducted March 25-26, 2013

By Rasmussen Reports

 

1* How severe is poverty in the United States today?

 

2* Are you currently living in poverty?

 

3* Are you personally dependent upon government financial aid?

 

4* Looking ahead… a year from now, will you still be dependent upon government financial aid?

 

5* Do current government programs increase the level of poverty in America or decrease the level of poverty in America? Or do they have no impact on the level of poverty?

 

6* Are there too many Americans dependent on the government for financial aid or not enough? Or is the level of dependency about right?

 

7* Do you agree or disagree with the following statement – “Work is the best solution for poverty.”

 

8* A proposal has been made to end all welfare and poverty programs and use some of the money saved to create jobs for the poor. If a person could not find a job and wanted to work, he or she would be guaranteed a minimum wage government job doing projects to improve local communities. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?

 

9* Another proposal would be to use some of the savings from eliminating welfare programs to subsidize private sector jobs for the unemployed. If a company hired and trained a long-term unemployed worker, the government would cover a portion of the person’s minimum wage hourly pay. Do you favor or oppose this proposal?

 

NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence