Common Ground • August 22nd, 2022

Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on the Issue of Poverty

Common Ground,Bipartisanship,Poverty,Inequality,Economy And Jobs

Timur Weber/ Pexels

Poverty compounds many policies and social issues, from education to incarceration, and affects communities regardless of political affiliation. This means that both sides have incentives to mitigate it, resulting in a lot of common ground on the issue.

Here are a few examples of data and stories to support that:

67% of Democrats, 73% of Independents, and 77% of Republicans are skeptical that the government knows enough to fix poverty, according to the Cato Institute’s (Lean Right) 2019 data.
83% of Republicans, 73% of Democrats, and 72% of Independents agree that the government’s war on poverty has been ineffective, and majorities of Democrats (69%), independents (76%), Republicans (90%), believe more economic growth will better help people in poverty, according to the same data from the Cato Institute.
“About two-thirds of Americans who think there’s too much economic inequality in the country these days (66%) say the federal government should have a lot of responsibility in reducing it”, reported Pew Research Center based on a 2019 poll.
When those who say there’s too much economic inequality in the U.S. are asked about the best approach for addressing it, 89% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats say it would be better for the government to invest in education and job training programs for people who are poor, the same Pew Research survey found.
When it comes to whether the government should do more to help the poor, even if it indebts the country further, 33% of Republicans agree while 72% Democrats agree. This is based on a 2024 poll and is the closest agreement across party lines since 2019.
Majorities of Americans back increased funding for key social programs: 72% support more money for housing assistance for low-income families, 72% favor increased childcare program funding, and 70% want greater IRS funding to target tax evasion by the wealthy and large corporations, according to a 2023 study by Navigator Research. Furthermore, another Navigator study showed that 82% of Americans believe the government should increase funding for social security, medicare, and other retirement programs.

See more examples of common ground on issues where you might not expect to find it:

Clare Ashcraft is the Bridging & Bias Assistant at AllSides. She has a Center bias.

This piece was reviewed and edited by Managing Editor Henry A. Brechter (Center) and Research Manager and Data Journalist Andrew Weinzierl (Lean Left)

Common Ground,Bipartisanship,Poverty,Inequality,Economy And Jobs