DFP Coronavirus Response Tracking Poll Week 5

Brian Schaffner and Laurel Bliss, Tufts University

Summary

There has been relatively little movement in key items since last week. Two additional questions were included in our survey this week. First, we asked about whether people want “Additional resources for coronavirus testing and contact tracing” in any new legislation that Congress might pass. This item received nearly 80 percent support. Second, we asked about support for Medicare for All, including arguments for and against the policy. 49 percent of respondents support Medicare for All, 35 percent oppose, and rest are unsure.

Increasing numbers of Americans believe that the government has either spent enough or too much on the coronavirus pandemic, but the majority still believe the government should spend more even if spending increases the deficit (57 percent). This is an 8 percentage point drop from April 21st when the question was first asked. There has also been a shift in where people believe the government should be spending their money. Since week one, there has been a 5 percentage point drop in support for relief in the form of assistance to workers (now 67 ) in favor of supporting investments in new infrastructure (now 33 percent). Despite these drops, the vast majority of people continue to hold similar preferences as they did earlier in this crisis.

There continues to be higher levels of trust in state governments (67 percent) to handle the Coronavirus pandemic than in the Federal government. 48 percent of respondents have a positive view of their own state government compared to 28 percent of respondents who have a positive view of the Federal government. A large percentage of respondents have neutral views of their state governments (42 percent) and the Federal government (36 percent).

People continue to report receipt of their stimulus checks, which 60 percent of respondents have now received (4 percentage points higher than last week). Additionally, 13 percent of respondents now report that they have received unemployment benefits since March 1st. How are Americans spending these funds? 52 percent say they have used the money to buy food and 39 percent have used it to pay their rent or mortgage. Many are also using these funds to pay bills, including 37 percent who said they used the funds for their utility bills, 10 percent who used it for medical bills, and 55 percent who used the money to pay other bills (e.g. car payments or credit cards). 13 percent of Americans say that they gave their stimulus money to family members who needed it more.

Approval on the handling of coronavirus pandemic

The graph below shows the percent who strongly or somewhat approve of how Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or the CDC are handling the coronavirus pandemic. Respondents who responded “not sure” were excluded from the analysis.

Question wording: “For each person or group, say whether you approve or disapprove of the way they are handling the coronavirus pandemic:”

Which level of government do you trust more to handle the Coronavirus pandemic: The [R’s state] state government or the federal government?

Changes in job status

Here we track responses to a question asking respondents how their work has changed since March 1st of this year. Only respondents who are in the workforce are included in the chart below.

Since March 1st of this year, has your work changed? Yes, my hours have been reduced. Yes, I lost my job.

Social Distancing

Question wording: Which of the following best describes your current behavior?

I am continuing to socialize in public places

I am continuing to socialize in public places, but slightly less than before

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family in my or their homes

I am not going to public places, but I am socializing with friends or family virtually I am not going to public places nor am I socializing with family or friends

Government response to Coronavirus

In this section, we show how Americans are evaluating what the government has done to address the Coronavirus pandemic and how much they still want the government to do.

Question wording: Based on what you have heard, do you support the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act” or CARES Act?

Question wording: Have you received a check or direct deposit as part of the federal government’s stimulus bill (the CARES Act)?

The recent stimulus package (CARES Act) mandated the distribution of financial support for individuals and small businesses. Do you think the government has distributed this financial support…?

Question wording: Do you think the government should spend more money to address the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impacts, or do you think the government has already spent enough?

Question wording: Which comes closer to your view?

The government needs to spend more to address the coronavirus pandemic, even if it means increasing the national debt and deficit

The government has spent enough to address the coronavirus pandemic and should not do anything else to increase the national debt and deficit

The government has spent too much to address the coronavirus pandemic and should cut spending to reduce the national debt and deficit

Question wording: Would you support or oppose the following provisions in a future legislative package to address the coronavirus pandemic:

General scope of government

Here we track Americans views on the scope of government.

Question 1 wording: Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Provide fewer services. 7=Provide many more services.

Question 2 wording: Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale. Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on their own. Suppose these people are at the other end. Where would you place yourself on this scale? 1=Govt should let each person get ahead on own. 7=Govt should see to jobs and standard of living.

Question wording: Do you think that the government response right now should mostly be focused on: Relief in the form of assistance to workers and small business OR Investments in new infrastructure to get Americans back to work.

Question wording: Would some form of socialism be a good thing or a bad thing for the country as a whole? (Remaining respondents selected “no opinion”)

Methodology

The Data for Progress coronavirus tracking poll is fielded each week using respondents recruited via Lucid. Post-stratification weights are implemented to make each week’s sample nationally representative of American adults by gender, age, region, education, race, and the interaction of education and race. The margin of error for each week’s survey is approximately ± 3.7 percentage points (this is a conservative estimate and will vary slightly depending on the exact sample size and design effect each week).

Full Toplines and Crosstabs

A document showing toplines by survey wave for each question can be found here.

Crosstabs for each week’s poll can be found at the links below:

The raw data for the tracking poll can be found here.