President Biden arrived in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday to talk about how the newly signed infrastructure law will boost communities. As Biden sold his agenda, a new NPR/Marist poll showed his approval rating stuck at 42%.
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President Biden arrived in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday to talk about how the newly signed infrastructure law will boost communities. As Biden sold his agenda, a new NPR/Marist poll showed his approval rating stuck at 42%.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Americans don’t feel the direct payments or extended child tax credits allocated earlier this year helped them much, according to Latest NPR/Marist polland they don’t consider the Democratic signature law to refer to top economic concern – inflationary.
In addition, they are fed up with the job that President Biden is doing, don’t give him much credit for direct payments or tax credits, and have undermined the direction of the country.
The results, out Thursday, come as Democrats prepare a nationwide push sell voters on their policies ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, when the party will defend its slim majority in both the House and Senate.
Americans mostly agree new infrastructure law, but less support than the Democrats’ Better Rebuild bill that to date pass by the house. And while that law would expand the social safety net, survey respondents don’t believe it will help people like them.
“Surname [Democrats] Barbara Carvalho, director of Marist Poll, said.
Perspectives on Direct Payments and Child Tax Credits
More than 6 in 10 respondents said they received a one-time direct payment of up to $1,400 earlier this year. At the end of April, the Internal Revenue Service estimates that more than 163 million people have received payments from that program.
Four out of five of those who received payments said they helped them at least a little, but only a quarter said they helped a lot.
Democrats have called their agenda under Biden “transformational” for most Americans. They say policies like direct payments and changes to the child tax credit are part of the federal government’s broader plan to provide needed services and support to people who have lost their lives. were disadvantaged in the economy.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., speaks during a July 20 press conference on Capitol Hill about families being helped by the expanded child tax credit.
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Democrats say the child tax credit has a particularly big impact on low-income families, for whom additional funds are critical. A recent study from Columbia University found that those monthly payments lifted 3.6 million children out of poverty in October.
In the NPR/Marist survey, most 6/10 eligible households said they received a child tax credit. But 59% of eligible respondents are far below the number of families the government expects to receive the money. IRS earlier estimate This year, families with 88% children in the United States will be eligible for payments and 35 million families receive them in September.
The disconnect between government figures and respondents’ responses is a matter of perception and credit for Biden and the Democrats.
Even among those who recalled receiving the tax credit, two-thirds said it only helped a little and one-fifth said it didn’t help at all.
Biden’s Cognitive Problem
For the president, there are further indications that voters distrust him for his administration’s policies.
When it comes to those direct payments, respondents give Democrats in Congress a lot of credit for getting them in the hands of people (40%), while only 17% say Biden responsible for depositing the most cash.
The same percentage, 17%, approves of Republicans – although no congressional Republicans voted for the March relief bill.
Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, said: “It doesn’t look like he’s in the lead even though that’s his bill.
“It’s a matter of messaging from the White House,” said Miringoff.
The president’s approval rate was just 42% in this survey, tied for the lowest November poll for Marist found since Biden took office.
Furthermore, protest intensity is high – 38% said they strongly oppose Biden. It is close to the territory where former President Donald Trump resided during his term.
While it’s a sign of a deeply polarized society, there is also evidence of fading affection for the president among those within his own party.
For example, in the survey, while 76% of Republicans strongly opposed the work Biden was doing, only 38% of Democrats strongly approved.
Biden’s presidency has always been likely to be defined by the coronavirus pandemic and the economy, and on both measures, the country faces significant challenges.
Half of Americans approve of the way Biden is handling the pandemic, but the 50% rating in this survey is his lowest since taking office.
In the NPR/Marist poll in late November, respondents said their top economic concern was inflation, but in this survey, people were pessimistic that net bills for infrastructure or social safety will help limit it. Only about a third said the same about both.
“They are [Democrats] Don’t connect the dots between concerns about inflation and what’s happening in Washington, with the infrastructure bill or Build Better Again,” said Carvalho, who said this was complete, Carvalho said. “should be a red flag for the party.
Democrats have spent months repeating the message that their legislation will not increase the deficit or exacerbate inflation. In a speech from the White House in October, Biden calls the plans financially responsible policies to help the country grow.
“They didn’t add a dime to the deficit,” he said. “And they don’t raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000 a year. In fact, they reduce the deficit.”
Overall, 61% of respondents said things were going wrong in the country. That’s a significant drop from July, when Biden said the US was on the cusp of independence from the pandemic. Americans were divided then but more optimistic now about the direction of the country.
Infrastructure and Construction Law is better again
A majority – 56% – said they support the infrastructure bill that was put into law recently. Nearly 7 in 10 say they are optimistic it will improve roads and bridges, and a large majority are optimistic it will create better paying jobs.
Fewer and fewer people support the Build Back Better legislation already being considered by the House and Senate – 41% say they support it, 34% say they oppose and 25% are uncertain. That includes a significant portion of independent firms, who have been divided on what they think of the bill.
Perhaps more unsettlingly for Democrats, their message about what the legislation could do for ordinary people is unlikely to get through. Margins 46% to 42% said they were pessimistic that it would help people like them.
Notes on the methodology: The survey of 1,172 adults was conducted from November 30 to December 6 using face-to-face mobile and landline interviewers.
For a sample of all adults, the poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage points. That means the result could be 3.8 points higher or lower than the numbers shown. Of the 1,172 surveyed, 1,062 were registered voters. When the voter is referenced, the question has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
Of those surveyed, 723 adults reported receiving direct payments, and 196 reported receiving an extended child tax credit. The credit was converted into a monthly payment in July. Families with a combined income of up to $400,000 a year are eligible for up to $300 per month, per child.
For the group receiving direct payments, there was a margin of +/- 4.8 percentage points, and for those receiving the child tax credit, the margin of error was +/- 9.2 percentage points higher.
