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April 4-15, 2012: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Values Survey—Nationwide poll on perceptions of poor people in America.

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(In the last ten years, do you think the values held by middle class people and the values held by poor people have become more similar or more different?)

47% More similar

41% More different

3% No change 

8% Don۪t Know/ Refused 

Survey by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, April 4 – April 15, 2012 and based on 3,008 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1805 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1203 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 603 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.060412.R13FB]

(In your opinion, which is generally more often to blame if a person is poor? Lack of effort on his or her own part, or circumstances beyond his or her control?)

38% Lack of effort

46% Circumstances beyond control

11% Both 

5% Don۪t Know/ Refused 

Survey by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, April 4 – April 15, 2012 and based on 3,008 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1805 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1203 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 603 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.060412.R46FB] 

(In general, do you think poor people have higher, lower, or about the same moral values as other Americans?)

12% Higher

14% Lower

67% Same

6% Don۪t Know/ Refused 

Survey by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, April 4 – April 15, 2012 and based on 3,008 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1805 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1203 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 603 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.060412.R10FA] 

(Compared to ten years ago, do you think there is a wider gap or a narrower gap between the standards of living of middle class people and poor people?)

61% Wider

28% Narrower

5% No change 

6% Don۪t know/ Refused 

Survey by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, April 4 – April 15, 2012 and based on 3,008 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1805 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1203 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 603 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.060412.R12FB]  

(Do you think that most poor people in the United States are people who work but can’t earn enough money, or people who don’t work?)

65% Work

23% Don۪t Work

12% Don۪t know/ Refused

Survey by Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Methodology: Conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, April 4 – April 15, 2012 and based on 3,008 telephone interviews. Sample: National adult. 1805 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1203 were interviewed on a cell phone, including 603 who had no landline telephone. [USPSRA.060412.R09FA] 

Formal Citation

Pew Research Center for the People , Apr, 2012. Retrieved Jun-28-2012 from the iPOLL Databank, The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/ipoll/ipoll.html

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