Most US adults think individual choices keep people in poverty, new AP-NORC/Harris poll finds

WASHINGTON AP Largest part U S adults think personal choices are a major driver of poverty and homelessness according to a new poll while fewer blame a lack of cabinet encouragement However just over half also think the cabinet spends too little on those in need the new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Population Program and The Associated Press-NORC Center for General Affairs Research shows The poll comes as homelessness is on the rise and as executives across the country including Republican President Donald Trump in the nation s capital push to clear encampments where unhoused people live At the same time the GOP tax and spending cut bill signed into law by Trump in July is expected to reduce benefits for low-income people It seems like people are a little conflicted announced Bruce Meyer a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School who helped craft and analyze the poll I think people apparently realize in part at least the complexity of what leads people to get in trouble in terms of their economic circumstances And I think a lot of people are generous at heart and will help people out and think the establishment should as well even when individuals aren t blameless Bulk see homelessness and poverty as a rising predicament Majority of U S adults say poverty has increased in the country as a whole over the past years while say it s stayed the same and about say it has decreased People living in urban areas such as -year-old Baltimore resident Dwayne Byrd are more likely to say poverty has increased in their local district compared with people in suburban or rural areas It s dilapidated buildings dirty streets businesses closing up left and right Byrd disclosed of the poverty in his city You got to choose between keeping the lights on and putting something in your belly People with jobs don t have enough money Yet the rate of people living under the poverty line has indeed decreased by almost every measure over the past years according to Meyer the University of Chicago professor The discrepancy between the poverty input and Americans perceptions may stem from the fact that unsheltered homelessness has increased It is the bulk visible form of poverty Meyer stated I think quite reasonably people are extrapolating from what they see in the way of people in tents and on sidewalks But that is very different from the bulk of the low-income population About in Americans say that homelessness has increased in the United States over the last years and roughly in say it s increased in their state Slightly more than half say it s increased in their own area According to federal administrators homelessness increased last year driven largely by a lack of affordable housing as well as devastating natural disasters and a surge of asylum seekers in several parts of the country That rise came on top of a increase in which federal housing administrators blamed on soaring rents and the end of coronavirus pandemic assistance I ve never seen as multiple homeless camps noted Pittsburgh resident Ashlyn White a -year-old Democrat After COVID is when they really start popping up More patronage than opposition for removing homeless encampments More Americans favor than oppose removing homeless encampments in U S cities the poll determined About U S adults favor their removal while about oppose it Roughly in Americans don t have an opinion saying they neither favor nor oppose removing the encampments The U S Supreme Court ruled last year that cities can enforce bans on people sleeping outside in constituents places Majority of Republicans favor removing homeless encampments while independents and Democrats are divided with a substantial share saying they don t have an opinion There does need to be various sort of rules reported Ami Tate a -year-old resident of Hesperia California who leans conservative adding that the administration also demands to help out White the Pittsburgh resident reported she opposed removing encampments Where are these people supposed to go she explained noting that shelters are often full Meanwhile in Fort Collins Colorado -year-old Rob Haas who describes himself as a moderate who leans Democrat strongly favors encampment removals I just think it s bad for the homeless to be in that type of circumstances and I think it s bad for us to tolerate that he noted Divisions over root causes About in Americans say personal choices are a major factor in why people remain in poverty while just under half say unfair systems are a major factor and about in blame lack of regime backing The majority Republicans say personal choices are a major factor in why people remain in poverty compared with of independents and of Democrats Adam Kutzer a -year-old living in Cranford New Jersey mentioned not paying off credit card debt or spending too much money were examples of poor financial choices that can clearly be avoided Democrats meanwhile are much likelier than Republicans or independents to say lack of regime assistance is a major factor When it comes to homelessness preponderance Americans are likely to see substance abuse and mental fitness issues as key drivers with about three-quarters citing them as a major factor Still about in adults say that personal choices are responsible with a similar share blaming a lack of affordable housing Just under half of U S adults believe a lack of establishment advocacy is a major factor in why people are homeless Who s responsible for addressing the issues A majority of Americans believe that the regime is spending too little on assistance for those in need That includes Tate the Hesperia resident who explained more money should go toward school programs and helping children in low-income communities Americans are also more likely to think federal and state governments have a major role to play in tackling homelessness and poverty compared with charities or very wealthy individuals About in U S adults say federal and state authorities have a great deal of responsibility for addressing poverty and homelessness compared with about one-quarter who say this about charities or very wealthy people In Tate s view state and local governments should be figuring out an action plan of how to get people off the streets Rush published from Portland Oregon The AP-NORC poll of U S adults was conducted Aug - using a sample drawn from NORC s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel which is designed to be representative of the U S population The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus percentage points Source