- Introduction
- Patterns
- Over Time
Social welfare spending (Demographic Patterns)
We are faced with many problems in this country, none of which can be solved easily or inexpensively. I'm going to name some of these problems, and for each one I'd like you to tell me whether you think we're spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount. K. Welfare. Results weighted by WTCOMBNR (General Social Survey 2010 Cross-Section and Panel Combined)
Social welfare spending by Sex
| Male | Female | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Too little | 20.4% 242 | 23.2% 288 | 21.8% 530 |
| About the right amount | 34.9% 413 | 34.8% 432 | 34.8% 845 |
| Too much | 41.6% 492 | 39.6% 492 | 40.5% 984 |
| Dont know | 3.1% 37 | 2.4% 30 | 2.8% 67 |
| No answer | 0.0% 0 | 0.1% 1 | 0.0% 1 |
| Missing | 1074 | 1401 | 2475 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 1184 | 100.0% 1243 | 2427 |
Social welfare spending by Political ideology
| Extremely liberal or liberal | Slightly liberal | Moderate | Slightly conservative | Conservative | Extremely conservative | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too little | 30.6% 119 | 25.6% 72 | 23.1% 203 | 16.2% 55 | 11.0% 42 | 16.3% 13 | 26 | 21.4% 504 |
| About the right amount | 41.1% 160 | 37.0% 104 | 36.4% 320 | 35.1% 119 | 26.6% 102 | 21.3% 17 | 22 | 35.0% 822 |
| Too much | 24.7% 96 | 34.5% 97 | 37.9% 333 | 45.4% 154 | 60.6% 232 | 62.5% 50 | 22 | 40.9% 962 |
| Dont know | 3.6% 14 | 2.8% 8 | 2.6% 23 | 3.2% 11 | 1.8% 7 | 0.0% 0 | 5 | 2.7% 63 |
| No answer | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0 | 0.0% 0 |
| Missing | 389 | 317 | 844 | 331 | 411 | 112 | 0 | 2404 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 389 | 100.0% 281 | 100.0% 879 | 100.0% 339 | 100.0% 383 | 100.0% 80 | 75 | 2351 |
Social welfare spending by Age
| 18 to 29 years old | 30 to 44 years old | 45 to 59 years old | 60 to 74 years old | 75 years or older | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too little | 28.0% 116 | 21.8% 144 | 19.8% 143 | 20.5% 87 | 20.8% 36 | 3 | 22.0% 526 |
| About the right amount | 34.1% 141 | 33.9% 224 | 34.7% 250 | 36.8% 156 | 37.6% 65 | 8 | 34.9% 836 |
| Too much | 36.2% 150 | 41.5% 274 | 43.1% 311 | 38.2% 162 | 38.7% 67 | 19 | 40.3% 964 |
| Dont know | 1.7% 7 | 2.9% 19 | 2.4% 17 | 4.5% 19 | 2.3% 4 | 1 | 2.8% 66 |
| No answer | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.6% 1 | 0 | 0.0% 1 |
| Missing | 552 | 643 | 689 | 403 | 170 | 0 | 2457 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 414 | 100.0% 661 | 100.0% 721 | 100.0% 424 | 100.0% 173 | 31 | 2393 |
Social welfare spending by Region
| Northeast | Midwest | South | West | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too little | 22.7% 97 | 22.3% 121 | 23.3% 200 | 18.7% 111 | 0 | 21.8% 529 |
| About the right amount | 30.4% 130 | 37.4% 203 | 33.1% 284 | 38.3% 228 | 0 | 34.9% 845 |
| Too much | 43.0% 184 | 38.9% 211 | 40.8% 350 | 39.8% 237 | 1 | 40.5% 982 |
| Dont know | 4.0% 17 | 1.5% 8 | 2.7% 23 | 3.2% 19 | 0 | 2.8% 67 |
| No answer | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0 | 0.0% 0 |
| Missing | 416 | 509 | 1019 | 531 | 0 | 2475 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 428 | 100.0% 543 | 100.0% 857 | 100.0% 595 | 1 | 2423 |
Social welfare spending by Religion
| Protestant | Catholic | Jewish | None | Other | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too little | 21.2% 242 | 20.3% 133 | 17.9% 7 | 22.5% 83 | 29.6% 60 | 4 | 21.8% 525 |
| About the right amount | 33.9% 386 | 38.1% 250 | 46.2% 18 | 35.5% 131 | 27.1% 55 | 4 | 34.9% 840 |
| Too much | 42.5% 485 | 38.6% 253 | 30.8% 12 | 37.9% 140 | 41.9% 85 | 10 | 40.5% 975 |
| Dont know | 2.4% 27 | 3.0% 20 | 5.1% 2 | 4.1% 15 | 1.5% 3 | 0 | 2.8% 67 |
| No answer | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0 | 0.0% 0 |
| Missing | 1196 | 588 | 54 | 440 | 182 | 0 | 2460 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 1140 | 100.0% 656 | 100.0% 39 | 100.0% 369 | 100.0% 203 | 18 | 2407 |
Social welfare spending by Race
| White | Black | Other | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too little | 19.1% 350 | 34.9% 117 | 23.7% 62 | 21.8% 529 |
| About the right amount | 35.1% 641 | 34.6% 116 | 33.6% 88 | 34.8% 845 |
| Too much | 43.1% 787 | 28.4% 95 | 38.9% 102 | 40.6% 984 |
| Dont know | 2.7% 50 | 2.1% 7 | 3.8% 10 | 2.8% 67 |
| No answer | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 |
| Missing | 1898 | 326 | 251 | 2475 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 1828 | 100.0% 335 | 100.0% 262 | 2425 |
Social welfare spending by Church attendance
| Less than once a year | Once a year | Several times a year | One to three times a month | Nearly every week | Once a week or more | Missing | TOTAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too little | 23.4% 166 | 20.2% 72 | 17.6% 44 | 25.6% 102 | 23.0% 23 | 20.5% 89 | 33 | 22.0% 496 |
| About the right amount | 34.6% 246 | 35.9% 128 | 33.2% 83 | 36.3% 145 | 27.0% 27 | 36.1% 157 | 60 | 34.9% 786 |
| Too much | 39.3% 279 | 40.6% 145 | 45.2% 113 | 37.1% 148 | 47.0% 47 | 40.5% 176 | 75 | 40.3% 908 |
| Dont know | 2.7% 19 | 3.4% 12 | 4.0% 10 | 1.0% 4 | 3.0% 3 | 2.8% 12 | 7 | 2.7% 60 |
| No answer | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.0% 0 | 0.2% 1 | 0 | 0.0% 1 |
| Missing | 705 | 326 | 260 | 387 | 108 | 480 | 0 | 2266 |
| TOTAL | 100.0% 710 | 100.0% 357 | 100.0% 250 | 100.0% 399 | 100.0% 100 | 100.0% 435 | 175 | 2251 |
Notes
The General Social Surveys (GSS) have been conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) annually since 1972, except for the years 1979, 1981, and 1992 (a supplement was added in 1992), and biennially beginning in 1994. The GSS are designed to be part of a program of social indicator research, replicating questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. This data file has all cases and variables asked on the 2010 GSS. There are a total of 4,901 cases in the data set but their initial sampling years vary because the GSS now contains panel cases. Sampling years can be identified with the variable SAMPTYPE.
