The majority of voters say that homelessness has become worse in the past two years, another sign of the diminishing economic outlook that Americans hold amid the highest inflation in four decades heading into the November midterms.
The vast majority (92%) said in a Rasmussen Reports poll that homelessness is a serious problem, with 68% saying it’s grown worse.
Sixty-one percent of respondents laid blame on government policies that they believe have increased homelessness, despite billions of dollars in federal spending in recent years allocated to combating the issue.
Federal data suggests the national homelessness rate has seen a slight recent decline, but it’s public perception that will hold the most weight at the ballot box as Republicans try to win back control of Congress from Democrats as fears mount of worsening economic conditions.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report published in February found that more than 326,000 people experienced sheltered homelessness on a single surveyed night in 2021, which was a decrease of 8% from 2020.
Among respondents in the poll, 28% said homelessness should be a federal responsibility, while 40% said it’s on the states, and 16% feel localities should handle it. Both parties were most likely to say states are responsible for combating homelessness, including 48% of Republicans, 38% of Democrats and 35% of independents.
The majority of participants — no matter their political affiliation or race — said the issue has worsened.
The poll also found that voters believe crime is worse, underscoring why the topic is so popular among GOP candidates on the campaign trail as the party accuses Democrats of promoting policies that Republicans say have resulted in higher crime.
The survey was conducted Sept. 26-27 among 1,000 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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