Most US adults think individual choices keep people in poverty, new poll finds

By CLAIRE RUSH and LINLEY SANDERS WASHINGTON AP Preponderance 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 establishment aid However just over half also think the regime spends too little on those in need the new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Citizens Guidelines and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Constituents Affairs Research shows The poll comes as homelessness is on the rise and as officers 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 disclosed Bruce Meyer a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School who helped craft and analyze the poll I think people allegedly 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 governing body should as well even when individuals aren t blameless Most of see homelessness and poverty as a rising dilemma Majority 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 neighborhood compared with people in suburban or rural areas It s dilapidated buildings dirty streets businesses closing up left and right Byrd reported 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 Related Articles New material shows the US job region was much weaker than thought in and this year as well Wall Street holds near its records following the latest overview showing the US job domain is slowing Home Depot stores long a hub for day laborers now draw immigration agents out on raids Will Apple s new iPhones cost more Here s what to expect from currently s unveiling Who else appears to be in the Jeffrey Epstein th birthday book Yet the rate of people living under the poverty line has definitely decreased by almost every measure over the past years according to Meyer the University of Chicago professor The discrepancy between the poverty content and Americans perceptions may stem from the fact that unsheltered homelessness has increased It is the majority of visible form of poverty Meyer noted 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 locality According to federal representatives homelessness increased last year driven largely by a lack of affordable housing as well as devastating natural disasters and a surge of foreigners in several parts of the country That rise came on top of a increase in which federal housing bureaucrats blamed on soaring rents and the end of coronavirus pandemic assistance I ve never seen as a large number of homeless camps commented Pittsburgh resident Ashlyn White a -year-old Democrat After COVID is when they really start popping up More help than opposition for removing homeless encampments More Americans favor than oppose removing homeless encampments in U S cities the poll discovered 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 community places Largest part 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 chosen sort of rules declared Ami Tate a -year-old resident of Hesperia California who leans conservative adding that the establishment also demands to help out White the Pittsburgh resident announced she opposed removing encampments Where are these people supposed to go she stated 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 announced 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 sponsorship 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 noted 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 executive endorsement is a major factor When it comes to homelessness the greater part Americans are likely to see substance abuse and mental wellness 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 regime encouragement is a major factor in why people are homeless Who s responsible for addressing the issues A majority of Americans believe that the executive is spending too little on assistance for those in need That includes Tate the Hesperia resident who disclosed 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 executive 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 announced from Portland Ore 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