• Polling

The American Jobs Plan Commands Strong Bipartisan Support

Thursday, April 15, 2021 By Bryan Bennett
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Welcome to NAVIGATOR – a project designed to better understand the American public’s views on issues of the day and help advocates, elected officials, and other interested parties understand the language, imagery, and messaging needed to make and win key policy arguments.

This release features findings from a national online survey of 1,256 registered voters conducted April 8-12, 2021. Additional interviews were conducted among 97 Hispanic voters, 100 African American voters, 100 independents without a partisan lean, and 92 Asian American and Pacific Islander voters.

Key takeaways

  • Though only half report hearing “a lot” or “some” about Biden’s “American Jobs Plan,” seven in ten support it once described.
  • The most supported parts of Biden’s plan include repairing roads and bridges, fixing drinking water, and protecting America against future pandemics.
  • Effective progressive messaging on Biden’s infrastructure plan focuses on the urgent need for domestic job creation, rather than American competitiveness in the global economy.

 

In Addition to the Pandemic and Vaccines, Infrastructure Now Breaking Through in Conversation Around Biden

Majorities of Democrats (90% positive or mix) and independents (67%) report hearing positive things or a mix of positive and negative things, as do 41% of Republicans.

Half of Americans Say They Are Hearing a “Lot” or “Some” on Biden’s Infrastructure Proposal

Democrats (56% “a lot” or “some”) and Hispanic Americans (56%) are hearing the most about the proposal.

Majorities Support Biden’s New “American Jobs Plan”

While 51% of Americans support the plan initially, support jumps to 70% when learning more about the proposal, including double-digit increases across all partisan and racial groups.

Bipartisan Majorities Support Most Infrastructure Proposals

Among independents, a majority support each of a range of proposals, from rebuilding highways and roads to upgrading and building new schools and child care facilities.

Majorities Support Closing Tax Loopholes, Raising Income Taxes on Wealthy and Increasing Corporate Tax Rate

While 53% of Republicans earning less than $50,000 annually support raising incomes taxes on those making more than $400,000 per year, only 38% of Republicans earning more than $100,000 annually support it.

Three in Four Americans Support Raising Corporate Tax Rate, Taxes on the Wealthy, or Both to Pay For Infrastructure

More than two in three independents support these proposals as part of new infrastructure legislation (71%).

Conservative Arguments Against Infrastructure Spending Lose Regardless of Whether Rebuttals Focus on Urgency or Jobs

Progressive messaging effectively refutes conservative claims that the government should limit spending on infrastructure.

A Progressive Argument Focused on Good-Paying Jobs Is Highly Effective

Winning arguments against criticisms that Biden’s infrastructure proposal is a “massive liberal wish list” are focused on the creation of “millions of good-paying jobs.”

Messaging About Creating and Protecting Jobs Is Biggest Winner, Instead of Global Competition

While messages on both competing on the world stage and domestic job creation are “convincing” to a majority, Americans are more convinced by language that focuses on domestic jobs that can’t be “outsourced.”

  • While 57% of white voters find messaging on global competition convincing, 67% find job creation convincing.

More Agree Income Gap Has Never Been Bigger and Support “Big, Bold Changes” Than Did Last Year

There has been a net increase of 5 points in the share who support “big, bold changes” since January 2020 (from +6 to +11), including notable upticks among Black Americans (from 62% to 74%) and independents (46% to 53%).

Majorities Agree Pandemic Exposed Flaws in Our Economy and Support Significant Change Over Incrementalism

Nearly three in five agree “we need to make significant changes” when inequality is framed either as a reality exposed by the pandemic or as a consequence of it, rather than gradual economic changes.

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About Navigator

In a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Joel Payne, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

For press inquiries contact: press@navigatorresearch.org