Nearly six in 10 Americans believe that the federal government should provide funds to states affected by natural disasters without having to cut spending in other areas to do so, according to a new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll. [cont.]
Chris Cillizza & Sean Sullivan, Washington Post
Maybe – but is this the way to ascertain the public’s preferences? While the introduction includes the phrase “which comes closer to your view,” the poll question discussed above doesn’t explicitly ask about policy preferences. Respondents were not asked if federal money should be spent this way, if it would be prudent to offset disaster relief spending, etc. They were asked if spending “must be offset by cuts to other programs” or if it “does not need to be offset by cuts to other programs.”
Some respondents might have interpreted this as a question about their knowledge of current law – whether the government is required to offset disaster relief expenditures.
The full question is: “Thinking about the federal government’s response to major natural disasters, which comes closer to your view even if neither is exactly right? Federal spending in response to natural disasters must be offset by cuts to other programs. Federal spending in response to natural disasters is emergency aid that does not need to be offset by cuts to other programs.”