A nationwide Rasmussen Media Group poll for the Dallas Express on President Biden’s infrastructure plan shows that 47% of voters are likely to support the plan with 35% of respondents opposed.
After learning more details about the plan’s contents, however, respondents became less likely to support it.
The decrease of support was partly caused by concerns about employment and national debt, the poll shows. After uncovering a number of specific details within Biden’s plan, poll respondents’ support decreased, and voters were evenly divided on their support of the bill. With a 3.1% margin of error, there were 34% who supported it and 36% opposed, representing nearly a 50/50 split opinion.
One area of the infrastructure plan that decreased respondents’ support was the knowledge it would add trillions of dollars to the federal debt. There were 48% who said they were less likely to support the plan after discovering this, which equates to a drop in 14 percentage points compared to initial responses.
One respondent stated that infrastructure spending is “wasteful spending that increases the debt and accomplishes nothing.”
Additionally, 49% of respondents became less likely to support Biden’s plan after learning it would decrease private sector jobs in favor of creating new government jobs. There was a 19 percentage-point drop in support of the plan when considering that factor alone. The poll also showed that people are nearly six times more likely to support private sector jobs over government jobs.
The national infrastructure itself is important to those who took the poll, with one responder stating, “Infrastructure means roads, bridges, electric grids, to make opportunities accessible. Internet has become an important part of that, too. However, I support Biden’s expanded view of infrastructure, even though it isn’t traditional.” Another added, “Development with regard to the roads and transport is very good for the development of the economy in the present situation. This opens the path for overall development through employment in various levels.”
Highlighting the split opinions about Biden’s plan, another respondent stated that infrastructure involves “expensive transportation routes with high taxes passed on to people who may never use them.”
The national online survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted by Rasmussen Media Group from April 28- May 1. The results were “lightly weighted” for certain elements including gender, age, race and political preferences.
