Among the things blown away by Hurricane Katrina was a public sense of complacency and fatalism with regard to poverty. Katrina made it dramatically clear that too many American children and families live on the economic edge, with no cushion for everyday setbacks—let alone major disasters. But was it enough to open the window of opportunity for a national discussion of race and poverty?

If so, that would mark a significant change. Poverty has been languishing as a political issue for a long time, and according to the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, as recently as 2004, most Americans didn't believe that poverty in this country could be eliminated.

But what do the poor themselves think about the causes and solutions of poverty? And, in the post-Katrina era, have public attitudes changed?

Within the past year, the Marguerite Casey Foundation has commissioned two surveys exploring attitudes towards these questions—one before and one after Katrina. In October, 2005 the foundation released the polls' findings in a report entitled "Different Incomes, Common Dreams."

And in direct response to Katrina, New America Media (NAM) commissioned Bendixen & Associates to conduct telephone interviews with a diverse group of 1,035 adults (African Americans, non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics and Asians). The surveys were conducted in English and five other languages from October 14 through October 21, 2005. NAM wanted to learn how Katrina affected public opinion, on four issues: poverty; race relations and discrimination; the environment and climate change; and government's ability to deal with catastrophic events. The findings were released in late October.

Casey Polls: A Wide-Angle Lens

In a briefing to journalists at the National Press Club, Luz Vega-Marquis, president and chief executive office of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, said that the foundation wanted a comprehensive look at public attitudes towards poverty, so it deliberately included families ranging from very rich to very poor.

Pre-Katrina Poll

Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted the first national poll for Marguerite Casey, interviewing 1,546 families between December 9, 2004 and February 12, 2005. Each household included at least one child younger than 18. Of the total number, 277 of the families are considered very low-income and live well below the federal poverty guideline; 728 families are moderately low-income and live just below or slightly above the federal poverty guideline; and 541 families are higher-income, living well above the federal poverty guidelines. (The size of each group reflects the actual proportion of each income group within the national population of families.)

When asked to characterize "how big a problem is poverty in our country today—big, moderate, small or not at all," families across income levels agreed that poverty is a big problem (70 percent of the very low income; 67 percent of the moderately low income; and 58 percent of the higher income). Similarly, when asked to describe the gap between rich and poor people in America, 81 percent of the very low income families called it a very big gap, as did 75 percent of both the moderately low and higher income families.

A majority of all income groups said that the gap between the rich and the poor can be reduced (62 percent of the very low income; 59 percent of the moderately low income; and, 54 percent of the higher income families).

The pre-Katrina survey also showed that a majority of families across the income spectrum strongly agree that there are many people who work very hard, only spend money on life's necessities, and still struggle to get by (79 percent of the very low income; 70 percent of the moderately low income; and 61 percent of the higher income).

There is a difference of opinion when it comes to what causes poverty today—people not doing enough to help themselves, or families falling victim to factors beyond their control such as the economy or discrimination. Higher-income families in the survey were split almost equally: 46 percent said people were not doing enough to help themselves, and 48 percent said that there are factors beyond their control. In contrast, about 34 percent of low-income respondents said people weren't doing enough, while nearly 60 percent blamed poverty on factors beyond individual control.

Despite this difference, clear majorities of all families surveyed indicated that they would be willing to pay more taxes for programs to help poor people (63 percent of very low-income; 59 percent of moderately low-income; and, 55 percent of higher income).

Post-Katrina Poll

Casey commissioned Lake Snell Perry Mermin/Decision Research for the second poll, a national omnibus poll of 1,042 adults between September 30 and October 3, 2005. The findings show more Americans now perceive themselves as among the "haves" as opposed the "have-nots" (61 percent Post-Katrina compared to 51 percent). Researchers say that this may be due to the images of complete devastation caused by Katrina.

The second poll also found more agreement that poverty is a big problem, with 68 percent of respondents agreeing, up from 61 percent in the earlier poll. Pollster Celinda Lake said that although people are more negative about the economy since Katrina, they continue to believe that poverty is not inevitable. "We shouldn't be afraid to address poverty," Lake said. "The public shares a core belief that poverty is a problem that Americans can solve, and they want to move forward to do so."

Different Poll, Similar Findings

New America Media's opinion poll affirmed the Casey poll findings that fighting poverty is an important goal for Americans. When asked to select the most important priority for the United States, "developing and funding programs to eliminate poverty in this country" was the top choice of 58 percent of African Americans, 43 percent of Hispanic, 40 percent of Asians, and 36 percent of non-Hispanic Whites. 34 percent of Hispanics chose "rebuilding cities and regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters." Twenty-five percent of non-Hispanic Whites chose "fighting terrorism" as did 23 percent of Asians in the survey.

When asked if they agree or disagree with the statement, "Life is a lot more difficult for poor people in the United States than I ever imagined," 84 percent of African Americans, 77 percent of Asians, 74 percent of Hispanics and 67 percent of non-Hispanic Whites agreed. Similarly, 78 percent of African Americans, 74 percent of Hispanics, 67 percent of non-Hispanic Whites, and 60 percent of Asians agreed that poverty is a national disgrace and the government should do everything it can to get rid of it.

There was also strong consensus on how to fund Katrina relief efforts: 77 percent of African Americans, 69 percent of Hispanics, 60 percent of Asians, and 46 percent of non-Hispanic Whites selected "by getting our troops out of Iraq as soon as possible." Twenty-one percent of non-Hispanic Whites and 16 percent of Asians selected "by raising taxes."

"All Americans witnessed Katrina and we wanted to know what they thought across the racial and ethnic spectrum," said Sandy Close, executive director of New America Media in a press release. "What we found was a remarkable unanimity on issues of poverty... The question now is whether the leadership exists to act on this consensus."

Resources:

• Marguerite Casey Foundation Family Survey
• Lessons of Katrina
• Katrina Relief Effort Raises Concern Over Excessive Spending, Waste

Cecilia Garcia is Executive Director of Connect for Kids.