New Pew Survey: Only 40% of Republicans Support Safety Net Programs

By Blue Texan




I've been arguing for some time now that the current crop of radicalized Republicans don't just want to "reform" social safety net programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security -- they want to get rid of them entirely.

Well, a new extensive Pew study on partisan polarization validates this view.

Since 2007, Republican support for the safety net has declined significantly even as Democrats continue to support government assistance to the poor and needy as they have over the last 25 years. As a result, although the safety net has long been one of the areas where the opinions of Republicans and Democrats most diverge, the current party gap is now larger than ever.

 Majorities of Republicans now say they disagree that the government should guarantee every citizen enough to eat and a place to sleep (36 percent agree, 63 percent disagree) and take care of people who can’t take care of themselves (40 percent agree, 54 percent disagree). As recently as 2009, Republican opinions on these questions were more evenly divided.   READ MORE