Voters Support The Economic Justice Act
By Sean McElwee, Kelsey Wright and Ethan Winter
Today, Senate Democrats introduced the Economic Justice Act, a major new legislative proposal to make $350 billion in immediate and long-term investments in communities of color. Senate Democrats describe the first objective of the proposal as a bid to immediately help communities of color respond to the coronavirus pandemic through investment in child care, mental health and primary care, and jobs. The second objective of the proposal is building long lasting wealth and health in these communities over the next five years by providing funding for infrastructure, a homeowner down payment tax credit, Medicaid expansion, and more. The Senate Democrats’ new Economic Justice Act would seek to partially offset the cost of the legislation by reallocating $200 billion of unspent funds from the “Coronavirus Aid,Relief, and Economic Security Act” or CARES Act. (Additional details about the Economic Justice Act can be found here.)
As part of a July 2020 survey, Data for Progress asked registered voters for their opinion on the elements of the Economic Justice Act. In addition, we asked voters how relief money should generally be spent.
Reallocating coronavirus-relief funds
As currently constructed, the fiscal relief that Congress allocated to address the coronavirus pandemic and its ensuing economic fallout has prioritized large corporations, not low-income communities and communities of color. To test an alternative course of action, we asked voters how they would feel about reallocating $200 billion in federal funds currently designated for large corporations. We provided six alternative proposals.
All six proposals enjoyed majority support. The most popular proposal would instead use the funds to remove dangerous chemicals from local water systems, thus ensuring safe drinking water for all communities; this proposal enjoyed a 59-percentage-point margin of support (73 percent support, 14 percent oppose). The second-most popular proposal would invest the funds in the preservation and creation of affordable housing, which voters supported by a margin of 47 points (66 percent support, 19 percent oppose). By a 38-point margin, voters supported using the funds to instead expand Medicaid to cover all pregnant individuals, and by 37-point margin, voters preferred using the funds to instead expand Medicaid to states that have not previously expanded it. By a 38-point margin, voters supported using the funds to instead construct high-speed internet infrastructure in low-income, minority, and Native American communities. Even the least popular proposal—to instead use the funds to rebuild and renovate K–12 schools, libraries, and minority-serving institutions—enjoyed a hearty 36-point margin of support among voters.
We also asked voters if they would support reallocating $300 billion in coronavirus relief currently scheduled to be sent to large corporations, instead investing it in clean job creation in low-income and Black, Latino, and Native American communities. Overall, voters supported this proposal by a 27-point margin (53 percent support, 26 percent oppose). Among self-identified Democrats, the proposal enjoyed majority support (65 percent), and among self-identified Republicans, it enjoyed plurality support (43 percent).
New coronavirus-relief stimulus
Next, we asked voters about proposals to provide immediate relief to communities heavily impacted by the coronavirus. The most popular proposal we tested was a $15 billion investment to connect workers to in-demand jobs and job training, which voters supported by a margin of 42 points (62 percent support, 20 percent oppose). Also popular was a proposal to invest $12 billion in minority-owned businesses as well as provide tax incentives for small businesses, which voters supported by a margin of 36 points (59 percent support, 23 percent oppose). Similarly, by a 35-point margin, voters supported a $40 billion investment to expand and support community-based mental- and behavioral-health providers in high-need areas (58 percent support, 23 percent oppose). Lastly, by a 19-point margin, voters supported a $50 billion investment in childcare services in communities of color (50 percent support, 31 percent oppose).
Tax credit for first-time homeowners
Next, we provided voters with arguments both for and against a $15,000 tax credit for first-time homeowners, then asked their opinion. Overall, voters supported the tax credit by a margin of 28 points (55 percent support, 27 percent oppose). Support is also bipartisan, with majority support from both Democrats (64 percent) Republicans (52 percent).
General attitudes on spending relief funds
We also sought to test voters’ general attitudes for how government relief funds should be spent. To do this, we focused on an effort to redirect coronavirus relief designated for large corporations toward clean-energy job creation in low-income communities and communities of color. Overall, voters supported this proposal by a margin of 26 points (53 percent support, 27 percent oppose). Democrats supported the proposal by a 53-point margin, while Republicans opposed it by a margin of merely 2 points.
Prioritizing coronavirus relief
We wanted to understand voters’ preferences in distributing coronavirus relief, so we provided them with two response options: one focused on investing in low-income communities and communities of color, and the other focused on investing in large businesses. Then we asked which came closer to their view.
Overall, voters greatly preferred investing in low-income communities and communities of color over large businesses, supporting this prioritization by a 20-point margin. There is a clear partisan distinction here, though: Democrats preferred to invest in low-income communities and communities of color, by a 43-point margin, while Republicans preferred to invest in large businesses, by a 6-point margin.
We also asked voters which parts of the economy should be prioritized in relief spending. Seventy-five percent of voters thought that small businesses were either the most important or very important to prioritize, while 70 percent of voters thought that low-income communities were either the most important or very important to prioritize. Fifty-nine percent of voters thought that Black, Latino, and Native American communities were very important to prioritize in relief spending. Of the options provided, voters thought large businesses were the least important to prioritize in relief spending, with 25 percent of voters indicating large businesses were not at all important.
The American public supports coronavirus relief targeting communities of color.
Authorship & Methodology
Sean McElwee (@SeanMcElwee) is a co-founder and the Executive Director of Data for Progress.
Kelsey Wright is an intern at Data for Progress.
Ethan Winter (@EthanBWinter) is an analyst at Data for Progress. You can email him at ethan@dataforprogress.org.
Edited by Andrew Mangan, Senior Editor, Data for Progress
From July 10 through July 12, 2020, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,390 likely voters nationally, using web-panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is +/- 2.6 percentage points.
Question wording
How concerned are you about each of the following?
An increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States
Reports that the Russian government may have paid bounties to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan
The expiration of expanded unemployment benefits at the end of July that ensured workers have 100% of their wages guaranteed during the pandemic
President Trump calling for a decrease in coronavirus testing
Police departments aren't being reformed in response to ongoing protests
That the November election won't be able to be safely conducted because of the coronavirus pandemic
Very concerned
Somewhat concerned
A little concerned
Not at all concerned
Thinking about coronavirus relief, which parts of the economy are the most important to prioritize relief spending:
Small businesses
Large businesses
Low-income communities
Black, Latino, and Native American communities
Most important
Very important
Somewhat important
Not at all important
Which comes closer to your view:
Congress should prioritize investments in low income communities and black, Latino, and Native American communities, which have been heavily impacted by the coronavirus crisis, in the next coronavirus relief bill
Congress should prioritize investments to provide economic relief to large job creating businesses, which received funding in the last coronavirus relief bill but are still suffering
Don’t know
Please indicate whether you support or oppose the following policy proposals that would provide immediate relief for communities heavily impacted by the coronavirus crisis. These investments would be in addition to the relief provided by the HEROES Act, which provides emergency funding such as rental assistance and hazard pay:
$50 billion investment in child care services in communities of color
$40 billion investment to expand and support community-based mental and behavioral health providers in high-need areas
$15 billion investment to connect workers to in-demand jobs for coronavirus relief, federal job training programs, and other job training support services
$12 billion investment to support minority-owned businesses and tax incentives for small businesses
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
Please indicate whether you support or oppose using $200 billion in federal funds originally designed to be spent on relief for large corporations for the following proposals instead:
Rebuild and renovate K-12 schools, libraries, and minority serving institutions
Build high-speed internet infrastructure in low-income, minority, and Native American communities
Invest in the preservation and creation of affordable housing for low-income renters and homeowners
Remove dangerous chemicals from local water systems and ensure all communities have safe drinking water
Expand Medicaid coverage in states that had previously not expanded it
Expand Medicaid coverage for all pregnant individuals and increase support for family health programs
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
Would you support or oppose redirecting $300 billion of coronavirus relief originally designed to be spent on relief for large corporations and instead spend it on clean energy job creation in low-income communities and Black, Latino and Native American communities most impacted by coronavirus?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat oppose
Strongly oppose
Don’t know
As coronavirus cases continue to increase in the United States, Congress is debating new coronavirus relief bills. In addition to short-term economic relief, like rental assistance and hazard pay, some lawmakers are introducing plans to invest in new green infrastructure projects. These green infrastructure projects would be focused on low-income communities and communities of color, which have been heavily impacted by coronavirus and pollution, and would create jobs in these communities. Do you agree or disagree that Congress should include investments in long-term green infrastructure projects for low-income communities and communities of color in the next coronavirus relief bill?
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
Don’t know
Some lawmakers have proposed a $15,000 down payment tax credit for first-time homeowners. This credit would be refundable for low-income taxpayers and the funds would be available at the time of the home purchase. Supporters say this tax credit will help build wealth in low-income communities and communities of color because it incentivizes more home ownership. Opponents say this tax credit is unnecessary and mortgages are already at historic lows for homebuyers. Do you support or oppose a $15,000 tax credit for first-time homeowners?
Strongly support
Somewhat support
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
Don’t know