A recent poll from the Media and Public Opinion Research Group finds that almost half of Americans blame both the government and the poor for poverty in the United States. Equal numbers place blame solely on the poor for not working hard enough or solely on the government for not providing enough support or opportunity. 17.1% say they don’t know or blame something else.
Obama supporters are much less likely to place blame on the poor than Obama detractors. However, supporters and detractors are almost equally likely to blame the government. Supporters are slightly more likely to blame both the government and the poor.
Men and women show very similar opinions on this issue, with men slightly more likely to blame the poor (either in combination with the government or alone) and women more likely to have no opinion.
When data is broken down by education cohorts, opinion of those with the highest levels of education are most similar to those with the least. Respondents with post-graduate degrees are the most likely to blame only the poor for their poverty, followed by those with only a high school education. Respondents with community college or undergraduate degrees are most likely to attribute poverty to a combination of failures by the government and the poor.
African Americans are the most likely ethnic group to attribute poverty solely to the poor. Caucasians are the most likely to place responsibility on both the poor and the government, while Hispanics are the most likely to blame only the government.
This data was based on a survey of 501 people over the month of May 2013. The margin of error is 4.38%.
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