Rasmussen: ‘Only 20% Think Government Anti-Poverty Programs Really Work’
More Hyscience Aug 23, 2011, 2:58 pm
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that Americans increasingly believe government anti-poverty programs cause more poverty in this country, with 49% of American Adults now believing that government programs increase the level of poverty in the United States, while just 20% say they decrease the problem. Nearly as many (19%) say the programs have no impact. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure. (Read more here)
The single real surprise here is that only 49% of American Adults realize that government programs do not work and actually increase the level of poverty in the United States. Way back in 1985 James Gwartney and Thomas S. McCaleb reported in the Cato journal (with tables) that while the intentions of the architects of the War on Poverty were noble, their approach to reducing the incidence of poverty has proven counterproductive. The current system of income transfers confronts the poor with perverse incentives that discourage self-help efforts in the short run and induces recipients to make decisions that retard their ability to escape poverty in the long run. The system unwittingly encourages behavior that leads to and perpetuates poverty.
They went on to nail exactly what remains wrong with our government programs to this very day – suggesting that in order for public policy to alleviate poverty it must be consistent with four basic principles – all of which run counter to and are anathema to liberal-progressive’s (i.e. Barack Obama’s) wealth-redistribution agenda:
1. Except for the handicapped and the elderly, all adults must be required to work in order to be eligible for long-term (say, more than 3 months) welfare benefits. Th
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- Description: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that Americans increasingly believe government anti-poverty programs cause more poverty in this country, with 49% of American Adults now believing that government programs increase the level of poverty in the United States, while just 20% say they decrease the problem. Nearly as many (19%) say the programs have no impact. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure. (Read more here) The single real
