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U.S. in the World: Talking Global Issues With Americans -- A Practical Guide

America is facing critical choices about who it is and wants to be in an increasingly interconnected world -- choices that will have a profound impact on Americans, on other peoples and countries, and on future generations. This guide pulls together facts and arguments and the most effective ways to put them across for advocates of pragmatic, principled, effective and collaborative U.S.


Summary of Surveys on Development Aid, Global Hunger, and Poverty: PIPA/Knowledge Networks -- Americans on Addressing World Poverty (2005)

Report Date: June 30, 2005
Data Collected: June 22-26, 2005
Survey Population: Nationwide sample of 812 Americans
Download a pdf of this survey report.

Background
This survey tests public opinion concerning the proposition that developed countries should commit themselves to the goal of devoting seven-tenths of one percent of their GDP to addressing world poverty, and to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The survey also looks at attitudes towards agricultural subsidies, and beliefs about their impact on farmers in the US and in developing countries.

Key Findings

  • A large majority of Americans (65%) favors the US committing to the goal of devoting seven-tenths of one-percent of GDP to reducing world poverty, provided that other developed countries do so as well.
  • An equally large majority (71%) favors the US committing up to $50 a year per taxpaying household to meet the Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015—once again, provided that other developed countries do so as well.
  • While a very strong majority (74%) favors subsidies for small farmers, most Americans (70%) oppose subsidies for large farming businesses—the primary recipient of subsidies.
  • Most Americans do not support the current policy of providing subsidies on a regular annual basis, rather than only in bad years. (28% support such subsidies for small farmers; only 9% support annual subsidies to large farming businesses)
  • Most Americans do not appear to understand the impact of the subsidies given by the US government on poor farmers abroad. Only 19% said they thought that US farm subsidies “hurt farmers in poor countries,” while 71% assumed that they “have no significant effect on farmers in poor countries.”

Key Advice

  • Previous polling shows that Americans sometimes resist major efforts to address world poverty because they tend to assume that other countries are giving less than the US. It appears from this survey that the public is willing to give generously if they believe that other wealthy countries are making a comparable contribution.
  • The public would strongly oppose eliminating all farm subsidies, but it supports subsidies targeted more narrowly than current ones. If the public’s preferences were followed, this would dramatically reduce the actual amount of US farm subsidies.
  • An overwhelming majority opposes, in principle, the regular annual subsidies to large farming businesses that constitute the majority of current subsidy spending.
  • Most Americans do not seem to understand how US farm subsidies can hurt farmers in poor countries.

Methodology
PIPA and Knowledge Networks conducted a poll June 22-26 with a nationwide sample of 812 Americans (margin of error was +/-3.5-4.0% depending on the sample size for each question). The poll was fielded by Knowledge Networks using its nationwide panel, which is randomly selected from the entire adult population and subsequently provided internet access.

Return to Index of Surveys.