Half in Ten Releases Poll Revealing Strong Public Support for Human Needs Programs

A new poll conducted by Hart Research Associates reveals strong public support for human needs programs that aid low-income and jobless Americans. The poll, commissioned by the Half in Ten campaign, shows overwhelming support for the TANF Emergency Fund, with 79 percent of respondents answering in favor of continuing this successful job-creation engine.

The poll also revealed that a vast majority of Americans are against cutting important human needs programs as a deficit reduction strategy. In fact, 78 percent of respondents felt that Congress should find other ways to reduce the deficit, with 65 percent of respondents indicating they “felt strongly” about the need for Congress to find other deficit reduction methods than cutting programs that are helping the most vulnerable families weather this recession.

These numbers are no surprise considering another of the poll’s findings. Approximately half of all Americans have a close family member who is poor. Click to read a memo on the poll results and to read our press release.