| VOTERS READY TO INVEST MORE TAX DOLLARS ON HUNGER
New Report: Concerns about hunger are personal for American voters
Washington, D.C., February 26, 2009 – As Congress takes up the Obama administration’s first budget, a new report shows that voters strongly favor spending additional tax dollars on programs to combat domestic and global hunger, even when they are told the cost.
The report, An Electorate Ready for Action -10 Key Findings on Hunger, is based on polling done on Election Day by the Hunger Message Project, an initiative of the Alliance to End Hunger.
With food prices rising and half of voters (49 percent) reporting that they live paycheck to paycheck, the issue of hunger has become very personal for Americans. One in five voters worry that they or someone they know will go hungry and one in three voters buys less food.
It is not surprising, then, that voters support new plans to fight hunger, even when they hear the price tag. Two-thirds of voters (65 percent) favor spending as much as $18 billion a year on child nutrition programs, such as school lunches and breakfasts.
“In tough economic times, politicians don’t think that voters want to prioritize hunger programs,” says Alliance director, Max Finberg, “but they couldn’t be more wrong.”
Voters report that they want their government to be generous to hungry people at home and abroad. When asked where the government should cut spending, only 4 percent endorsed cutting hunger programs while 55 percent said they would rather repeal tax cuts and 18 percent recommended cutting defense spending.
Americans who are at the greatest risk of hunger themselves are also the most adamant that the U.S. should do everything it can to help hungry people around the world. Seventy five percent of the voters who worry about going hungry support spending $3 billion a year so every child in the world can receive at least one meal a day.
The time to act is now, according to Finberg. “We are at a crossroads. The need is overwhelming but the opportunity has never been greater. We have the tools to end hunger, what we need is the political will.”
President Obama has committed himself and his administration to ending child hunger here at home by 2015 and comprehensively addressing it abroad. “We at the Alliance to End Hunger stand ready to help him achieve his goals,” said Finberg.
Methodology
McLaughlin & Associates conducted a national survey among 1,000 voters on November 4, 2008. All interviews were conducted by professional interviews via telephone. Interview selection was done at random within predetermined election units. These unites were structured to statistically correlate with actual voter distributions in a national general election.
The accurace of the sample is within +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval.
The report and the poll preparation were undertaken by a bipartisan team that included Tom Freedman, Sam Gill and Sam Feder of Freedman Consulting, LLC, and Jim McLaughlin and Stuart Polk of McLaughlin & Associates.
This installment of the Hunger Message Project was made possible by the generous support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
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Domestic Hunger
Key Findings
Global Hunger
Key Findings
FULL REPORT:
An Electorate Ready for Action - 10 Key Findings on Hunger
July 2008
Pre-Election Poll
Past Hunger Message Project Polls
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Election Day Poll Results
1. Would you say you and your family live from pay check to paycheck?
48% YES
20% Yes, definitely
28% Yes, somewhat
50% NO
2. Which of the following statements best describes how rising food prices have impacted you?
58% IMPACTED
19% Very much. I worry about me or someone I know going hungry.
38% Somewhat. I can buy less, but do not worry about me or someone I know going
hungry or skipping meals.
41% NOT IMPACTED
3. Do you think hunger is a problem in the United States? (Q37)
83% YES
41% A big problem
42% Somewhat of a problem
15% NOT A PROBLEM
4. Do you think the hunger problem in the United States is getting better, staying the same, getting worse?
49% Getting worse
34% Staying the same
8% Getting better
5. Which one of the following do you think is most effective in fighting hunger in the United States?
72% Creating a strong economy so that poor people can get better jobs.
24% Supporting programs that directly help poor and hunger people.
6. Do you think the hunger is a problem in other countries?
94% YES
74% A big problem
20% Somewhat of a problem
3% NOT A PROBLEM
7. Do you think the hunger problem around the world is getting better, staying the same, getting worse?
59% Getting worse
23% Staying the same
6% Getting better
8. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: It is in the United States’ best interests to invest in the health, economic infrastructure, and security of developing nations.
70% AGREE
27% Strongly agree
44% Somewhat agree
22% DISAGREE
9. Which one of the following is the best reason for working to reduce hunger around the world?
38% It is the moral and right thing to do
21% It can help people escape poverty and better their lives
12% Hunger can have long-term impacts on children’s learning and development
7% It is what God wants us to do
2% Reducing hunger and poverty will promote national security by reducing terrorism
and violence in the world
2% It will improve the reputation of the United States around the world
10. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Addressing problems like disease, hunger and the lack of economic opportunity in the world’s poorest countries can increase stability around the world, making the United States more secure from the threat of terrorism.
69% AGREE
32% Strongly agree
37% Somewhat agree
25% DISAGREE
11. During these times of budget cuts and tough economic times, if you had to choose one, which one of the following cutbacks would you recommend?
55% Repealing tax cuts to high income families
18% Cutting national defense spending
4% Cutting hunger programs
3% Cutting school and education programs
2% Cutting health care and Medicare programs
12. Would you support or oppose the United States dedicating an additional 1% of the federal budget to the needs of the world’s poorest people, including aid for education, hunger, poverty, clean water, children’s health and AIDS treatment?
69% SUPPORT
32% Strongly support
37% Somewhat support
24% OPPOSE
13. Some experts say that we could improve child nutrition and cut hunger and food insecurity in half in the United States by improving and expanding nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer feeding. This program would cost about $18 billion a year. Would you favor or oppose making an effort of this size to cut hunger and food insecurity in half in our country?
64% FAVOR
32% Strongly favor
32% Somewhat favor
26% OPPOSE
14. Would you favor or oppose a program to make sure every hungry child in the world had at least one meal a day available at school even if its costs the United States $3 billion?
67% FAVOR
34% Strongly favor
33% Somewhat favor
25% OPPOSE
15. Would you favor or oppose spending additional tax dollars on federal hunger programs to end child hunger in the United States by the year 2015?
73% FAVOR
36% Strongly favor
37% Somewhat favor
18% OPPOSE
16. Do you believe there should be a cabinet level, senior government official in the United States in charge of leading the fight against hunger and poverty in the United States and poor countries around the world?
49% Yes
38% No
17. Currently half of all the money the U.S. spends on food aid to feed the hungry overseas goes to buying American food and then shipping it on American ships. We could buy more food for the hungry if it were purchased overseas and closer to where it is needed. Knowing this, would you say…
39% Our current system is a good arrangement because it benefits American farmers
and businesses.
44% Our current system is a shame because so little money is actually used to feed the
hungry.
18. Do you approve or disapprove of a plan to roll back corn-based ethanol mandates, which some say has contributed to increased food prices?
54% APPROVE
23% Strongly approve
31% Somewhat approve
24% DISAPPROVE
19. Some people are proposing that Congress pass a new stimulus package intended to provide relief for struggling Americans and help the economy. One part of this new package is a temporary increase in food stamp assistance. Do you favor or oppose including a temporary increase in food stamp assistance in a new stimulus package?
64% FAVOR
31% Strongly favor
33% Somewhat favor
28% OPPOSE
| 20. President-elect Barak Obama has proposed a federal program to end child hunger in the United States by the year 2015. Tell me whether or not you think each of the following proposals in his program would be effective. |
% of Voters who think it will be effective |
| Increasing funding to federal nutrition programs like food stamps, the school lunch and school breakfast programs, summer food service program and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. |
76% |
| Simplifying program rules in the national school lunch program to ensure that all low-income children receive a free school meal and the nutrition assistance they need. |
78% |
| Expanding after school, weekend and summer feeding programs so that low-income children can receive free meals all year round. |
71% |
| Increasing funding to food banks and community-based food providers who are often the first point of contact for families who need help putting food on the table. |
77% |
Improving the government’s performance and streamlining bureaucracy to make sure families and children who are facing hunger are easily enrolled in federal food assistance programs. |
76% |
| Reducing poverty by providing permanent tax relief for working families, expanding the earned income tax credit and raising the minimum wage. |
75% |
2008 National Post-Election Poll Results
2008 National Post-Election Poll - Results by Religious Affiliation
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